"History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes"

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the first far-right party to win a state election in Germany since the Second World War, giving it unprecedented power, even if other parties are sure to exclude it.

Voters in two closely watched elections in the former communist east made their dissatisfaction with Germany's mainstream political parties clear, putting the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party in the top spot in Thuringia, with 32.8% of the vote, and second place in Saxony, with 30.7%, according to final results.

The leader of the AfD in Thuringia, Hoecke is one of Germany's most controversial far-right politicians and was fined twice this year for deliberately using a banned Nazi slogan.

The upcoming government formations will probably take a long time, and the outcome is completely uncertain.

Edit:
While I understand the source for data displayed is important, it’s a bit random in this case, but here:

• Invasion of Poland: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Poland
• Election results in Thüringen Germany showing the AfD as the winner: https://www.bundeswahlleiterin.de/en/europawahlen/2024/ergebnisse/bund-99/land-16.html
• The calculation between the two dates has to be done by yourself. ;)

Leaving the country to find a job? That might increase young people's chances of finding a decent job.

In 2023, 83.5% of recent graduates in the EU were employed, marking an increase of 1.1% compared with 2022 (82.4%). Recent graduates are individuals aged 20-34, who completed their studies within the past 1 to 3 years at medium or tertiary education levels.

The overall employment rate of recent graduates was 80% or higher in 22 EU countries. Malta led with 95.8%, followed by the Netherlands (93.2%) and Germany (91.5%).

The lowest employment rates were recorded in Italy (67.5%), Greece (72.3%) and Romania (74.8%).

Have you ever thought about moving to another country for better job opportunities? Or have you already done so?

Which member state contributed the most to EU GDP? And what does GDP actually mean?

Gross domestic product (GDP) is an indicator used to measure the size and performance of an economy. It provides information on the value of goods and services produced during a given period. Within the EU, GDP was valued at €17.0 trillion in 2023.

In 2023, slightly less than a quarter of the EU's GDP was generated by Germany (24.3%), followed by France (16.5%) and Italy (12.3%), ahead of Spain (8.6%) and the Netherlands (6.1%).

The European Parliament is still in its summer recess until 1 September. The European Youth Forum has used the summer break to take a closer look at the young MEPs under the age of 35 in each country.

It is particularly remarkable that five countries did not elect any members under 35 to parliament, namely Belgium, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg and Romania.

Are you surprised that there are so few young MEPs in the European Parliament? How could the representation of young voices be improved?

Source: Youth Forum, as of August 2024

Thursday is a reminder that the weekend is just around the corner. Time to compare beer prices in Europe!

Who would you like to drink your next beer with? And where?

The beer prices shown here refer to local draught 0.5 litre beer in a restaurant.

Source: Numbeo - as of August 2024