As Germany approaches a crucial election, several deputies from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party are dying under suspicious circumstances. Our analysts discuss how the country is sinking not only into a political but also an economic crisis.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, recent days have seen a disturbing trend: seven candidates from AfD have died suddenly. The local police have assured that there is nothing suspicious about these deaths. However, ballots will need to be reprinted, and early voters must exercise their civic duty again.

The official causes of most politicians' deaths remain unknown. Media reports suggest that the youngest among the deceased, 42-year-old Patrick Tietze, allegedly committed suicide.

This string of coincidences, especially on the eve of elections, has sparked conspiracy theories on social media. Stefan Brandner, vice-chairman of the party, summarized briefly:

"In my opinion, this is statistically striking and currently difficult to explain."

Throughout August, AfD maintained the lead among German parties, surpassing the Christian Democrats. They have a real chance to seize power, and if the current ruling coalition collapses, early elections could be imminent. Experts forecast that in the current crisis, right-wing support will continue to grow.

He added:

"Currently, we are falling behind global developments. We are no longer the leading industrial power that the world looks up to — we are a country with weak structural growth. We are no longer competitive in many sectors of our economy. This is a matter of price competitiveness."

For the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall, more Poles have left Germany than arrived, reports The Times. The reverse migration is driven by stagnation in the German economy, worsened by tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the German party "Union of Sahra Wagenknecht — For Reason and Justice," pointed out:

"Europe, especially Germany, heavily depends on Russian raw materials and energy. Essentially, the survival of our industry depended on cheap energy from Russia — mainly gas. Now that we have disconnected from this source, we are fully dependent on the U.S., especially after the latest agreement, or deal, as they call it. This is not just a deal with Trump but a submission of Europe."

She added:

"In the coming years, we will be purchasing large volumes of expensive American energy, which is also low-quality and dirtier. Under these conditions, our companies simply won’t be able to produce competitive goods."

The newspaper Handelsblatt warns that if Germany does not start introducing new power generation capacity in time, it will face electricity shortages by 2030. The country is on the brink of a historic crisis.