Far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is gaining ground because the Grosse Koalition between the Christian Democrats and social Democrats is failing to not provide clear answers on immigration and other key issues for voters, Premier Giorgia Meloni said Friday saying there was no comparison with Italy where her right-wing government is instead supplying those answers.

“I believe democracy must be respected; it is not just a matter of values, but also of relations with Europe,” Meloni said in Vercelli while commenting on the AfD’s surge in Saxony-Anhalt, where it polled 44% and is poised to rule, and the differing views expressed by her deoputy premier and centre-right Forza Italia leader Antonio Tajani, who called the AfD win “terrible news” and her other deputy premier, right-wing league party leader Matteo Salvini, who exulted over the far-right German victory.

According to Meloni, one should not draw “any parallel with Italy, because Germany has a Grand Coalition government that brings together center-right and center-left parties.

“These are solutions that—given the difficulty in establishing a clear stance on issues important to citizens—ultimately fuel the growth of movements like this.

That is not the case in Italy; Italy has a center-right, right-wing government” that is providing answers, “including on the issue of immigration—the very issue on which the AfD has gained ground.” photo: AfD co-leader Alice Weidel