History made over the weekend when Angela Merkel won a fourth term as Chancellor.

But her victory was marred by a sharp drop in support for her conservative Christian-Democrat alliance, and dramatic gains by the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party.

AfD got about 13 percent of the ballot—nearly triple the votes it received just four years ago. It put a far-right party in the German Parliament for the first time in more than sixty years.

CGTN’s Guy Henderson explained the results and the direction Germany is moving in from Berlin.

To discuss the German election:

• Timo Lochocki, focuses on European politics with the German Marshall Fund of the United States
• Jackson Janes, recipient of Germany’s highest civilian award and currently President of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University
• Ansgar Graw, senior political correspondent for the German newspapers — Die Welt and Welt am Sonntag

For more:

AfD leader quits party hours after German election breakthrough https://t.co/LY9JbMmDZh

— The Guardian (@guardian) September 25, 2017

 

German election results, by the numbers https://t.co/hc9inNGw9b pic.twitter.com/3lfyQ77G3G

— Bloomberg (@business) September 25, 2017

Wondering what to make of the German election? You just need to decide if you are a pessimist or an optimist https://t.co/3mvgHTyLy5

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) September 25, 2017