Germany's Economic Crisis Sees Biggest Drop Since WWII, Fuels Far-Right Gains

German living standards in 2022 saw the biggest collapse since WWII, with real wages dropping 4% and economic output falling 4.1% from pre-crisis forecasts
The energy price spike caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine is blamed for the economic crisis
The collapse coincided with rising popularity of the far-right AfD party
Germany entered a likely technical recession at the end of 2022 and start of 2023 with two quarters of falling output
Economists say delayed implementation of an energy price brake led to the AfD surge in summer 2022