Germany on brink of far-right political earthquake

But it’s unlikely to overturn a broader discontent that – for many AfD supporters – isn’t just based on anger about “mass” immigration.

People also talk of wanting to fight what they see as over-zealous green policies, state interference and ill-advised military support for Ukraine.

In the east that all combines with a despondency and frustration that’s been brewing for years, even decades – about the results of German reunification.

“You can constantly see where the east begins and where the west begins,” says 16-year-old Constantin, who rides into the town of Meiningen on his East German Simson S50 moped.

“The east and the west, it’s true it’s connected now. It’s one Germany. But we see, in the difference, it’s big.”