Since many folks have already asked me about the shocking recent state election victory of the far right in Germany, here is a brief Labor Day FAQ with links. Isn't it really about economic deprivation or inequality? No lol. People vote for anti-immigration parties because they don't like immigration. Anti-immigration parties get more votes particularly when immigration is a nationally salient issue, as it is now: (goodauthority.org/news/good-…). Also see research by @JamesRDennison and @epkaufm. OK, but why does immigration matter so much now, and in one of the Saxonies of all places, where there are relatively few immigrants? Voters care about what they think immigration is doing to Germany as a whole. Their own local community or paycheck is only part of the picture. See more on sociotropic voting and immigration here: (goodauthority.org/news/good-…, goodauthority.org/news/can-t…). OK, but I thought the immigration numbers were going down—why doesn't salience go down too? Voters care about foreigners already living in the country and how immigration is managed. Germany, for instance, has hundreds of thousands of people legally required to leave who remain in the country, often because of administrative reasons—and voters don't like that. Public concerns are also thermostatic and need not track this year's flows. I discussed this in the US context here: (goodauthority.org/news/why-a…). So what should mainstream parties do to win voters back? As I argued after the AfD's breakthrough in Germany's 2025 election, they need to deliver visible improvements in immigration policy. People can support freer immigration (and not vote for anti-immigration parties) when they can see that it benefits their country, without needing experts to tell them so: (goodauthority.org/news/germa…). But doesn't accommodating the far right always hurt mainstream parties since voters go for the real thing? It depends, and the evidence is mixed. As @hannohilbig explains, a tougher immigration position can attract some voters but lose others. Voters also often (rightly!) don't find mainstream parties' new anti-immigration stances credible: (popularbydesign.org/p/why-do…). OK, but immigration is actually good after all—so why are all those people upset about it? Freer mobility is good on net, but Germany has adopted many costly immigration policies whose downsides have often been downplayed in mainstream debate. Turning qualified research findings into reassuring political messages makes sensible immigration policy harder: (faz.net/aktuell/karriere-hoc…). Also see our primer with @KelseyTuoc on why immigration in Germany and Western Europe is so much worse than in the US: (theargumentmag.com/p/why-ame…). I make the full argument behind these answers in my last book, In Our Interest. For a shorter read, check out The Uncomfortable Truths About Immigration here: (popularbydesign.org/p/the-un…).