The big surprise from the German elections was how bad Merkel and the ruling CDU did, and how well the deplorable far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party did.

Berlin is a lovely city, very optimistic and international. It also has little patience for AfD bullshit; I saw no AfD signs anywhere until two days before the election, and those only way up high out of reach on poles. There was a big demonstration last night in Alexanderplatz after the election; the AfD were having their party there so a few thousand Berliners turned up to, um, help them celebrate.

Some links that may be of interest

• Detailed result maps in English, from the FT. Search google for “Germany’s election results in charts and maps” to bypass the paywall. Here’s a direct link to AfD support
• Very detailed result map for Berlin
• Germany’s two part ballot, an explanation of Germany’s clever implementation for proportional representation
• Fascism is not to be debated…, a first-person account of being assaulted Trump-style at an AfD meeting
• A funny election poster spoof. (Bad translation: Elderly poor people? Not with me! Vote for Death, the top scythe candidate from the Alternative for Everyone party.) Links to this page.

Now for the coalition negotiations. It’s not clear to me if the SPD saying they won’t join one with the CDU a negotiating tactic or if they mean it.