Will the far-right win big in the EU elections? A focus on Germany and Portugal

Two parties, two countries, one goal; to change Europe from within. Populist rhetoric is expected to score big in the European elections, with polls suggesting far-right and hardline conservative parties will become the third biggest force in the next European Parliament. Germany will elect highest number of MEPs among member states, 96. The country's far-right party Alternative for Deutschland, AfD, aims to have 20 of them. But will they succeed?

AfD remains in a strong position despite several scandals involving its members. The party was recently excluded from the far-right Identity and Democracy group at the EU Parliament after their top candidate told Italian newspaper La Repubblica that not all the Nazi SS were criminals. Maximilian Krah is still AfD’s lead candidate for the European elections. In an interview with Euronews he outlined AfD's vision for Europe:

“We need more power to the nation states," he declared. "We need less competences in Brussels, and more competitiveness. But we need, a common approach when it comes to trade agreements, customs, and to the guidelines of foreign policy.”

In the eastern State of Thuringia, AfD is well placed to become the main political force in the new State Parliament, despite being under surveillance for its ties to Neo-Nazis. Björn Höcke, Thuringian AfD's leader and top candidate for the state election, has recently been ordered to pay a fine for deliberately using a banned Nazi slogan at a campaign speech. Five years ago, another court ruled he can justifiably be called a “fascist”.

According to the experts of the “Thuringia Project” democracy is coming under pressure all over Europe, as authoritarian populists are trying to change the rules of democracy from within:

“At