IT IS A horribly(极其，非常（口语化强调）) hot afternoon in the market square of Zerbst, a small town in the east German state of Saxony-Anhalt, but Ulrich Siegmund’s grin barely slips(几乎不消失，保持稳定). For three hours Mr Siegmund (pictured), lead candidate for the populist-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Saxony-Anhalt’s election on September 6th, signs t-shirts and takes selfies with fans who have endured long waits under the blistering(极热的，酷热的) sun. There is no trace of the resentment(怨恨，愤恨) that once typified(是……的典型特征) AfD rallies. “This is not a party, it’s a movement!” beams(笑容满面地说) Phillipp-Anders Rau, the local AfD hopeful.
在德国东部萨克森-安哈尔特州的小镇采尔布斯特，市场广场上酷热难当，但乌尔里希·西格蒙德的笑容几乎从未消失。西格蒙德先生（如图）是民粹主义右翼政党德国选择党（AfD）在9月6日萨克森-安哈尔特州选举中的首席候选人，他连续三个小时为粉丝在T恤上签名，并与在烈日下久候的支持者自拍。昔日AfD集会上典型的怨恨情绪已荡然无存。“这不是一个政党，而是一场运动！”当地AfD的希望之星菲利普-安德斯·劳笑容满面地说。
Mr Siegmund, whose slogan is the sunny “Everything is possible!”, hopes to become the first right-wing nationalist leader of a German state since the second world war.(西格蒙德先生希望成为二战后德国首位右翼民族主义州领导人。) The AfD is set for(有望，注定要) a big win over the ruling Christian Democrats (CDU) on Sunday (see chart). Depending how many other parties cross the 5% threshold(门槛，临界点), it could secure a majority alone. If it falls short(未达到，不足) Mr Siegmund has other routes to power, perhaps via CDU defections(叛变，倒戈)—although he insists to your correspondent that he has no interest in that.
西格蒙德先生的口号是乐观的“一切皆有可能！”，他希望成为自二战以来德国第一个右翼民族主义的州领导人。德国选择党有望在周日大胜执政的基督教民主联盟（CDU）（见图表）。取决于有多少其他政党跨过5%的门槛，它可能单独获得多数席位。如果未能达到，西格蒙德还有其他掌权途径，或许通过基民盟的倒戈——尽管他向本刊记者坚称对此不感兴趣。
Supporters in the crowd dismiss allegations that the party has dark designs(邪恶的图谋). “The AfD is not radical, it just stands for(主张，支持) freedom of opinion,” says Heike Schmidt, a local. Yet its plans for Saxony-Anhalt, laid out in a 258-page governing programme, are among the most sweeping(全面的，影响广泛的) ever produced by a party with a credible chance of taking office(就职，执政). They amount to(相当于，总计为) a vision for a new sort of state, one party officials see as a blueprint(蓝图，行动方案) for the rest of Germany. But they are also uncosted(未计算成本的) and in places unserious.
人群中的支持者驳斥了该党有黑暗图谋的指控。“德国选择党并不激进，它只是主张言论自由，”当地人海克·施密特说。然而，该党为萨克森-安哈尔特州制定的计划——载于一份258页的执政纲领中——是历来有可能执政的政党所提出的最全面的计划之一。这些计划构成了一种新型国家的愿景，党内官员视之为德国其他地区的蓝图。但这些计划也未计算成本，且有些地方不够严肃。