Germany held three regional elections this month and, although each of them had a unique result, much of the media and political commentary reduced(简化；化约) them to: “German chancellor clings to power(勉强保住权力) after latest loss to far right. Since 2016, the year of Brexit and Trump, “embattled mainstream(腹背受敌的主流政党) threatened by emboldened(胆子变大的；有恃无恐的) far right” has become the overarching(总体的；统摄一切的) narrative about Europe. But while these elections were important, this reductive(过度简化的) take both oversimplifies the complexities of contemporary European politics and drives a defeatist(失败主义的) “end of democracy” narrative.
德国本月举行了三场州级选举。尽管每场结果各不相同，但许多媒体和政治评论却把它们简化为：“德国总理在最近一次败给极右翼后勉强保住权力。”自2016年——英国脱欧和特朗普当选的那一年——以来，“主流政党腹背受敌、极右翼气焰嚣张”已成为关于欧洲的总体叙事。然而，这些选举固然重要，这种化约式的解读却既把当代欧洲政治的复杂性过度简单化，又助长了一种失败主义的“民主终结”论调。
Saxony-Anhalt’s election on 6 September was a global news event – understandably, given Germany’s history, economy and place in Europe. The international media had speculated(猜测；推测) for months about an outright majority(绝对多数) for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD)(德国选择党，极右翼政党). The party came close, setting a record score with 43.8%, but it has so far failed to form a government, despite the amenable(配合的；顺从的) position of the “left-conservative” Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance.
9月6日的萨克森-安哈尔特州选举成为全球新闻事件——考虑到德国的历史、经济及其在欧洲的地位，这可以理解。国际媒体此前已猜测数月，极右翼的德国选择党（AfD）是否会赢得绝对多数。该党得票率高达43.8%，创下纪录，但迄今仍未能组建政府，尽管“左翼保守派”的萨拉·瓦根克内希特联盟态度配合。
Two weeks later, the AfD came in first(得票第一) again, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, with 38.2% of the vote. International media interest was much less pronounced(明显的；显著的) this time, maybe because it was the second of the three ballots, but more likely because the party was not close to reaching a majority. Moreover, the far-right success was overshadowed(使黯然失色；被掩盖) by the dramatic defeat for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU)(德国基督教民主联盟) of Chancellor Friedrich Merz. For the first time in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, the party did not make it into a state parliament. The relatively modest loss of the governing Social Democratic Party (SPD)(德国社会民主党), on the other hand, was barely discussed.
两周后，AfD在梅克伦堡-前波美拉尼亚州再次得票第一，拿下38.2%。这一次国际媒体的关注度明显降低，也许因为这是三场投票中的第二场，但更可能是因为该党离多数席位还差得远。此外，极右翼的胜利被总理弗里德里希·默茨领导的基民盟（CDU）的惨败所掩盖。这是德意志联邦共和国历史上该党首次未能进入州议会。相比之下，执政的社民党（SPD）相对温和的失利几乎无人讨论。