BERLIN—Antiestablishment populism is on the rise in Europe, fueled not just by migration and economic and security fears, but by a deeper trend: Eroding confidence in governments’ ability to overcome those challenges.
In Germany on Sunday, the far-right AfD and a new far-left populist party obtained almost half the votes cast in the eastern state of Thuringia, and together also took more than 40% in neighboring Saxony. In Thuringia, the AfD finished first, the first time a far-right movement has won a state election in postwar Germany.
In France, a legislative election that returned a hung parliament and gave the far-right National Rally almost a quarter of all seats—up more than 50% from the last election—has yet to yield a government two months later.
