The whole of Thuringia appears to be firmly in AfD hands after its victory in the state election on 1 September. But all of Thuringia? No.
Because while the Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany) party came out on top in 16 districts, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) party was successful in just one district: Eichsfeld, which is predominantly Catholic.
It has raised the question for some about whether Catholics in Germany are more resistant to völkisch nationalism. The word völkisch does not have a direct translation in England: it refers to a romanticised and idealised notion of Germanic culture, folklore and mysticism, and is characterised by a strong sense of national and ethnic pride, a rejection of modernity and urbanisation, along with a fascination with pre-Christian Germanic mythology and mysticism. The völkisch movement gained prominence in Germany and Austria, influencing the development of Nazism.
