IT IS AS unusual in Germany as anywhere to see conservatives cavort(嬉闹，欢腾) with Marxists. But at a demonstration in Bitterfeld, a town in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, flags bearing the names of almost all Germany’s political parties flutter(飘动，振翅) in the breeze, from the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) to the Greens and Social Democrats (SPD) all the way to(一直到，直至) the hard-left Die Linke. The Bunt statt braun(多彩而非棕色（反AfD示威口号）) (colourful instead of brown) demos began last year to counter rallies organised by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). For many in Bitterfeld’s town square, the prospect(前景，可能性) of the AfD in power is a horrifying(令人恐惧的) reminder of German history’s darkest period.
在德国，看到保守派与马克思主义者混在一起，和在其他地方一样不寻常。但在东部萨克森-安哈尔特州的小镇比特费尔德的一场示威中，几乎德国所有政党的旗帜都在微风中飘扬，从中右翼的基督教民主联盟（CDU）到绿党和社会民主党（SPD），一直到极左的德国左翼党。名为“多彩而非棕色”的示威活动始于去年，目的是对抗极右翼的德国选择党（AfD）组织的集会。对于比特费尔德镇广场上的许多人来说，AfD执政的前景令人恐惧地想起德国历史上最黑暗的时期。
But as the flags suggest, a broad popular front(人民阵线（反法西斯联盟）) may be needed to stop it. On September 6th Saxony-Anhalt will hold one of the most important state elections in postwar German history. The AfD, currently polling(民意调查（支持率）) above 40%, could secure an absolute majority(绝对多数) and take office(就职，执政) for the first time in a German state. The threat is concentrating minds. The biggest cheer of the evening goes to a CDU member who tells the left-leaning crowd that “democracy is more important than political differences.”(当晚最响亮的欢呼声献给一位CDU成员，他告诉倾向左翼的人群，“民主比政治分歧更重要。”)
但正如旗帜所暗示的，可能需要一个广泛的民众阵线来阻止它。9月6日，萨克森-安哈尔特州将举行战后德国历史上最重要的州选举之一。目前民调支持率超过40%的AfD可能获得绝对多数，并首次在德国一个州执政。这一威胁正让人集中注意力。当晚最响亮的欢呼声献给一位CDU成员，他告诉倾向左翼的人群，“民主比政治分歧更重要。”
Germany’s proportional-voting(比例投票制) system means absolute majorities are unusual. Of the country’s 16 states, only tiny Saarland has a single-party government. Parties assemble in a variety of coalitions(联盟，联合政府), often given colourful names. But the AfD has been blocked from power everywhere by a Brandmauer(防火墙（德国政治术语）), or firewall, that other parties have erected(建立，竖立) around it. The most important firewall is that maintained by the CDU, Germany’s ruling party and traditionally its largest. It formalised the policy in 2018 with an “incompatibility resolution(不兼容决议)” banning co-operation with both the AfD and Die Linke.
德国的比例投票制意味着绝对多数并不常见。在该国16个州中，只有小萨尔州拥有单一政党政府。各政党组成各种联盟，通常有色彩缤纷的名字。但AfD在各地都被一道“防火墙”挡在权力之外，这道防火墙由其他政党在它周围建立。最重要的防火墙是由CDU维持的，CDU是德国的执政党，传统上也是最大的政党。2018年，CDU通过一项“不兼容决议”正式确定了这一政策，禁止与AfD和左翼党合作。
