So much of politics is about 'expectations'. Trump was a juggernaut not because he won big, but because it ran so contrary to both expectations and everything they tried to do to him.
That said, their relief at the AfD underperforming by 1-2% will dissipate very quickly if these results hold and it is very, very hard to create a coalition without them. They will succeed, but the coalition will be unstable and people will be dissatisfied with it - they won't be able to get anything done, nor will they be able to pass the policies that are necessary. It's a good launching pad for the next election for the AfD.
So much of politics is about 'expectations'. Trump was a juggernaut not because he won big, but because it ran so contrary to both expectations and everything they tried to do to him.
That said, their relief at the AfD underperforming by 1-2% will dissipate very quickly if these results hold and it is very, very hard to create a coalition without them. They will succeed, but the coalition will be unstable and people will be dissatisfied with it - they won't be able to get anything done, nor will they be able to pass the policies that are necessary. It's a good launching pad for the next election for the AfD.