ANOTHER REFERENDUM ON MERKEL’S IMMIGRATION IN GERMANY: A vote for Berlin’s mayor is scheduled for Sunday, and the numbers don’t look good:

Berlin’s SPD mayor is doing his utmost to demonize the AfD ahead of the vote. . . .

This kind of tactic has worked several times in France, but it has been slowly losing its effectiveness there. The argumentum ad Hitleram might still have some traction in Germany, but some anecdotal evidence suggests that it may fall on deaf ears. “Merkel made a mistake letting everyone in. She will pay the price and so will Germany, our children,” a CDU voter—who incidentally still intends to support Merkel—told Reuters.

Anger is running high across Europe, recent survey data from Pew shows. In Germany, 67 percent disapprove of how the European Union has handled the refugee issue, while only 26 percent approve. In most of the rest of the EU, the numbers are even more stark. While Merkel will take her lumps—and may as a result decide not to run for re-election next year—the AfD is not really in danger of getting into a governing coalition any time soon, given the realities of German politics. But their successes in Germany are likely just a taste of the kinds of gains kindred parties will make in the coming months and years across the continent.

When the “respectable” and “sensible” parties cease acting sensibly or respectably, people look elsewhere.