That was a long time in the making and should come as absolutely no surprise. They do have the support of the media. (mostly intentional, and some unintentional through the stupidity of modern “journalism” like false balance) Also the established political parties have nothing better to do than legitimising them by parroting their rhetoric and allowing them to set the agenda. At least the CDU is increasingly openly preparing to cooperate with them, too.

It’s like a rerun of the old classic “Weimar Republic”.