Can Germany Still Call Itself a Democracy?

What happens when Europe’s ruling class can’t defeat their opponents at the ballot box?

In this week’s MCC Brussels podcast we begin in Germany, where the intelligence services have officially branded the AFD as "extremist" – just as a new coalition government struggles to form under Friedrich Merz. Is this militant democracy or just democracy in name only?

Next, we turn to Romania, where right-wing candidate George Simion has surged to victory in the presidential election's first round –just months after the previous vote was annulled. The establishment is panicking. Is Romania becoming Brussels' next problem child?

And finally, we land in Hungary, where the European Commission is once again attacking Hungary’s immigration policy. Why? Because Budapest won’t keep convicted people-smugglers on its soil. It’s another case of EU overreach – and an attack on national sovereignty.

Join guests Frank Furedi, Executive Director of MCC Brussels, and Richard Schenk, Research Fellow, and host Jacob Reynolds to unpack an explosive set of developments across the continent.

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0:00 – Welcome & Europe in Crisis: Germany, Romania, Hungary
0:46 – Germany Declares AfD "Extremist"
2:59 – Ethno-Cultural Identity Debate
4:04 – Militant Democracy & Thought Policing
6:08 – Politicisation of Intelligence in Germany
9:03 – Merz’s Chancellorship Collapses
16:54 – Romania: Simeon Surges After Rigged Election
24:50 – Hungary vs Brussels: Smugglers & Sovereignty
28:35 – What Europe’s Political Chaos Means