The Greek who shook up Hesse

Robert Lambrou, the candidate of the xenophobic Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the elections for the parliament of the State of Hesse, is full of contradictions. Although he is the son of a Greek man from the town of Thiva, he is an official of a party which was founded with the sole aim of throwing Greece out of the euro. Although he has an immigrant background, he is in favor of a tough immigration policy. Among his central goals is to reform the European Union, at a time when his party wants its dissolution. It is also worth noting that in his youth he was a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), while now he represents a clearly far-right party.

When I list all these details of his resume to him, he laughs and admits that, at first glance, they do sound contradictory. But he is quick to correct me: "The AfD was not formed to expel Greece from the...