This is a CBSI in the world. I'm John Bachelor. To Germany, Judy Dempsey in Berlin for the Carnegie

Endowment of International Peace,

introducing me to the politics of the Bundestag and the state parliaments,

the state legislatures across Germany, in the context of a new party that's

polling second only to the Christian Democrats who are of course famous and

dominant in the story of legislation since the Second War, but the AFD, the alternative

for Deutschlach is a party that surprised me when it showed up initially a couple of years ago.

However, it is very recognizable as putting together different elements of the German experience these last years, especially under the last few

years of Angler-Merical.

And Judy, a very good day to you, the AFD, I don't want to jump to how it's regarded today it

started very small as you do and you use a wonderful metaphor you chisel away at

the body politic.

The AFT started in 2013 with 1.9% of the vote for the 735 member Bundestag.

What was it at that time? How did how was it understood in the

general conversation in Berlin? Good evening to you Judy. Good evening

John and thank you for having your show. Actually it was a fascinating development because the origins of the

AFD they came from, the members came from the Christian Democratic Union Party.

They were quite Euro-sceptic.

They didn't like the bailouts for the Euro's own countries.

Remember, this was the Euro crisis.

They wanted maybe to pull out of the Ural, but they were essentially,

Uroskeptic, the anti-immigration element didn't come in, the anti-Islam element didn't come in.

...