♪ hello and welcome to focus on europe. i'm michelle henery. once the dust settled after what could be described as a political earthquake, one that shook the whole of europe, the german election changed the country's political landscape. it was a bitter victory: chancellor merkel and her party lost about a fifth of their core supporters. while the christian democrats remain the strongest group in the bundestag, they will have to search for new partners to govern. their former coalition partners, the social democrats, announced they were going into opposition. the election was long ridiculed as boring until in its final weeks when the makeup of the german parliament was anyones

guess. the vote turned out to be a disaster for the country's second largest party, the social democrats, who had their worst poll showing in post war germany. yet, it was a triumph for the right wing populist party the afd. our reporter visited, essen, a city in western germany and showed us how this long time social democratic stronghold was swiftly ousted by the afd. the city of essen is this politician's hometown. but since the german election, karlheinz endruschat, a social democrat, says he doesn't recognize it. in the past, his party usually won an easy majority. but this time: just 28 percent. many of endruschhat's neighbors told him they were voting for the far-right afd party. >> they said, we come from a family that's always voted spd, but we voted afd because we felt we needed to send a strong

signal. we have to win back these voters. if we just sit around another four years, that's not going to happen. endruschat is at pains to find out how to get his constituents back in his camp -- at least in the industrial city of essen. even in his neighborhood pub, he runs into afd sympathizers. i would have voted for the afd too. but you know what? i threw away my ballot paper and that was it. the police even don't dare to get out of their car at our local rail station, although there's two of them. in essen, crime is rising, unemployment is at 11 percent, 40 percent of the residents are migrants and the city is broke. there's little the municipal government can do to solve these problems as the far-right makes inroads into what was once a social democrat bastion. yet the industrial ruhr valley is often touted as a model for

successful integration of hundreds of thousands of foreigners who were once known as guest workers. at an anti-racism rally in essen, germans and migrants are protesting against the rise of the afd. many migrants are concerned. the afd will try to stop us holding events like this, supporting integration and against racism. that will increase tension. and this tension will influence how the residents coexist together. it will be a negative influence! >> 13% for the afd! the afd's members celebrated their triumph at a party in berlin on sunday. harald parussel likes to replay this scene on his computer. parussel is an afd functionary in essen.

a one-time spd member, he felt the party wasn't addressing his concerns anymore. they wouldn't allow him to express doubts about the country's refugee policy. he says he's no racist -- after all, he's been teaching immigrants' children for years. but he also understands some afd member's demands that the country finally put its nazi past to bed. >> i've got the feeling that society nurtures a kind of pride in our guilt. every time a german shows budding patriotism, they get out a big swastika and bang it over his head. then television news reports discord in the afd's parliamentary party one day after the election. parussel is bewildered. and suddenly, he's no longer certain that his party will exist four years from now. >> that's a major rumble! really major!

spd man endruschat coudn't care less about the afd's internal squabbles. he wants voters in his constituency to regain their faith in democracy. he's doing that by initiating an anti-litter campaign. people should get the feeling here, that politicians care about them. >> what do you think of the election result? >> we'll see what happens. >> do you have any hopes? >> hope springs eternal. there's not much more karlheinz endruschat can do other than hope the spd's fortunes improve. what is clear after the vote is that nothing in essen is as it used to be. >> many people here in germany are worried that some prominent afd members have spoken negatively about germany's efforts to come to terms with it's nazi past, some even going

so far as calling the holocaust quote ridiculous. 90-year old horst selbiger from berlin is a german jew who experienced the nazi terror -- and survived. he is deeply shocked by the elections outcome. >> we will hunt them. we will hunt mrs. merkel or whoever and we will take our country and our people back again. >> so, what does he want? the 1939 borders? it'll be a rough road with this gentleman.

of course it frightens me, that the parliament, the bundestag, won't be the bundestag it used to be. i just hope that some real rethinking takes place now -- and this blindness towards far-right tendencies is replaced by a microscopic focus on them, and that these disagreeable rightists will be seen for who they are. and i hope that this confrontation takes place in the new bundestag. and not that the afd dominates it -- to the contrary! -- the country!

>> and you can find out more about horst selbiger and his personal appeal on our facebook page dw stories. >> more than a decade ago, sweden demilitarized its strategically placed island, gotland after deeming russia was no longer a threat to their security. but frequent military maneuvers by russia like the recent one on nato's eastern flanc, have rattled the nerves in the scandinavian country known for its neutrality. and as a result it has beefed up its defenses. while some residents of the outlying island don't view engaging with this once robust trade partner as a problem, others fear that russia could once again shift europe's borders. usually, only rifle clubs practice in gotland's "tofta" forest. and this world war two era cannon has certainly seen better days.

but this fake building is a sign that sweden is holding its largest maneuver in decades. patrik monard belong's to sweden's 18th battalion. it was transferred to gotland following russia's crimea annexation. >> how does it feel to be exercising in gotland again? >> excellent. now we're doing the right thing. it was a mistake maybe to downsize the national defence in the way they did. it feels good to be here again. >> four tanks were moved to gotland from the mainland. they're not state of the art. it's evident sweden hasn't been involved in wars for a while. the soldiers are new recruits - with lots to learn. >> the swedish company is pretty new. they started their service in june this year. so we have a little but to do before we get where we want to be. since russia began redrawing european borders, fears of a

surprise attack on sweden have been growing. gotland could be a target. but the swedes worry they couldn't defend it alone. which is why they've called on american support: now, for the first time, american apache attack helicopters are thundering over the island, practicing attack sorties. as swedish tank crews practice their aim. sweden's always preferred to remain a neutral state. and so, sweden's officers don't mention "russia" at the drill. instead, they simply talk of "reds" versus "blues". >> also a red side played by some another swedish unit and some finish units. and also some american units. >> and you are the blue ones? why is there red and blue? >> that's just the colours. typically that's how it is in the military stetting. it's red versus blue. >> there's a back story to this drill - one that shows how

worried the swedes are. >> we're headed to the poor, eastern part of gotland. it's a quiet region, with few jobs, and much debt. many are moving away. >> we're in the harbour town of "slite". there's a cement factory, and little else. they used to keep pipes here for the german-russian nordstream 2 gas pipeline. now, there's just a piles of logs. sweden's government was worried russia could establish a secret military base here. >> you call this "putin quay"? >> yes. but we used to call it "pharmacist quay". that's where nordstream stored pipes for the first pipeline. and why shouldn't they? every week we get a russian ship transporting coal, plaster or cement. keeping the pipes here wasn't an issue.

why should it be an issue now? why can't we store pipes for "nordstream 2" here? i don't get it. so the people of slite missed out on 50 million kronas - roughly 5 million euro - worth of business. a new storage site is now being constructed in karlshamn, on the mainland. due to their long tradition of trading with russia, few people in slite are worried about their large eastern neighbour. >> if the russians wanted to conquer gotland, they could do so anytime. they don't need our harbour for that. after the three day drill, several hundred soldiers remain on the island. too few, thinks patrik monard. military officers like him are suspicious of the russians. they think who controls gotland, controls the baltic. i want to know if the soldiers left here will be enough

>> well, as a defence army - can we be enough soldiers? i don't know. >> a reasonable consideration. but an unusual one for a swede. after all, the country hasn't fought a war in over 200 years. >> a young german mother and her small son are in jail in turkey, facing an uncertain future. meshale tolu is one of over a hundred journalists caught up president erdogan's wave of arrests since last summer's failed coup. and when her son serkan is allowed to visit his father, he must go to another prison because he too was arrested. serkan only gets a glimpse of normality when his grandfather visits him. >> the bakirkoy women's prison in istanbul. ali reza tolu comes here regularly to visit his daughter mesale. this time he plans to take his two-and-a-half year old

grandson with him when he leaves. serkan lives together with his mother in jail. after their half-hour visit, the boy is carried out by his aunt. many other family members are waiting for them outside. they're looking forward to spending the weekend with serkan. >> when i get to see my grandchild i'm very happy. then i'm so pleased i feel like the luckiest man in the whole world. >> mesale tolu was arrested on april 30th and has been in detention ever since. turkey's public prosecutor accuses her of disseminating terrorist propaganda and being a member of a terrorist organization. tolu, who only holds german citizenship, worked as a

journalist and translator for a leftist turkish news agency. before spending the weekend with his grandparents, serkan visits his father. suat corlu was active in a socialist party. he was arrested shortly before his wife was. now in silivri prison, he's also accused of belonging to a terrorist group. it's not much of a childhood for a two year old -- living with his mother in one jail, and visiting his father in another. after the visit, ali reza tolu tells us that serkan and his father were still separated by a pane of glass. >> this is the second time i've brought him over here. serkan sees him through the glass and talks to him over the phone. it's not nice, but at least he gets to see his father. he was happy and said: daddy, when are you coming back? his dad said he's vacationing here for a while!

>> serkan's parents are trying to shield their son from the reality that they're both in prison. it was his mother's decision to have serkan live in the jail cell with her. ali reza tolu says that his daughter and grandson are being well-treated. still, spending the weekend outside prison walls is important for the child's development. ali reza tolu regularly meets with his daughter's lawyer. mesale tolu's trial is set to begin on october 11th in istanbul. her lawyer is worried, because she says that right now judges are ruling largely in favour of the policies of turkish president recep tayyip erdogan. she can only shake her head at the charges against her client. in 2015, mesale tolu attended the funerals of two left-wing extremists belonging to the outlawed marxist-leninist

communist party, who were killed by police in istanbul. the same year she also attended a memorial service for a member of the kurdish militia ypg who died in the fight against is in the same year she also attended syria. >> the events were an expression of freedom of speech. they took place under the supervision of turkish security authorities and ended peacefully. now they're being denounced as terrorist propaganda and attending them implies you belong to a terrorist organization. >> it's time for serkan to go back to his mother. ali reza tolu hopes his daughter will be released in october, after her trial. but he has his doubts about the justice system. >> they're always looking for evidence, but there is none. they only arrested her to get revenge on germany or something. that's all.

that's all. turkey's government swears that the country's judiciary is independent. mesale tolu's lawyer says that if the judge rules in accordance with the law, the journalist and her son should be out of jail in october. catalonia is one of spain's wealthiest regions. it not only contributes billions of euros to the country's coffers, but it also has its own language and identity. these are some of the factors why this region in the northeast dreams of independence. even so, not all catalans are in favor. in the small town of esparreguera, divided views threaten to tear this community apart. in esparreguera they're proud of their church, its annual passion play, called the life and passion of jesus christ, and social solidarity. but since the catalan government

decided to hold a referendum on independence from spain, the community has been split. eduard rivas is at the center of the conflict. as mayor, he decided not to allow public buildings to be used as polling places. >> as mayor it's my job to ensure there's a social consensus and to support things that do not divide society. because the independence initiative is controversial, i can't support the referendum. it threatens the office of mayor and the jobs of public employees. >> polling will now take place in an auditorium, the teatre la passio. referendum proponents want it to be held at any price. >> it's about the right to self-determination, which is again the subject of the referendum. the population can decide freely whether they want independence or not. >> a political party, "ciudadanos," opposes that

position, as does the spanish government in madrid. >> it's illegal, because it violates the spanish consitution and current laws. it's against the law. >> in all parts of the town, people are campaigning to convince fellow citizens of their stance on the issue. >> for us, independence is an indispensible tool for building a catalan republic, which will serve to create a new society. >> this view is gaining more and more support in esparreguera. these demonstrators chant "vote! vote!" >> of course that has an impact on me, as a mayor and neighbor. it's a tragedy that contributes to neither unity nor consensus. catalonia is deeply divided. >> eduard rivas is seeking common ground. a dedicated "european," he does not want a catalan "brexit."

>> independence won't help us achieve our aims as a country or as a community. instead, we should be seeking to become more european and organize on a continental level. >> the debate is dominating the programe of the local radio station. the mayor has seen sentiment against him growing. >> social media is full of insults and disrespectful posts. i think that's partially related to what the regional government has said about mayors who aren't going along with the referendum. that's rather worrying. >> a short time later, the dispute escalated when spanish police arrested a number of regional government representatives in barcelona, the catalan capital. madrid was apparently trying force the issue. although he opposes the referendum, the mayor says it was contraproductive to involve the police.

>> as of today, any dialogue to resolve the problem has become a distant prospect. >> madrid's demonstration of power has pushed referendum supporters and opponents together, even esparreguera. here they're certain that the vote will be held -- somehow. >> who doesn't like a bargain? i myself am not shy about haggling at a farmers market or garage sale for a good price. and in belgium, it seems, a bartering-fever has taken hold of the country. but not in one of the country's famed flea markets but in the tax office. overwhelmed by the amount of storage required, this government department regularly sells seized goods anything from old dvds and household appliances to a maserati. >> this warehouse is part of a so-called fin shop. it's here where everything ends up that the state doesn't need

anymore, or what he confiscates from thieves, what he gets from inheritances without inheritors; lost and found items never collected. it's quite suprising how many belgians love baseball. this is what the police collected. >> was someone attacked with that, really killed? >> no. then we wouln't find it here. this was in the back seat of a car, or maybe someone was threatened with it. there's quite a few. we have these very often, too, a very nice toolbox, probably from a burglar. >> the primary job of the fin shops is holding auctions, but another important business is selling cars. a hummer, a maserati and approximately 90 other cars are on offer, often with an unclear history.

professional hagglers go over every inch of them. commonly the absence of papers or a guarantee pose problems. test drives are not allowed. even starting the car is prohibited. a risky business for the connoisseurs of the scene. >> this used to be more interesting. but since they let everyone come here, private people are spoiling our business. >> the auction room is packed. the maserati starts at 15,000 euros despite being an almost ten year old gaz-guzzler. the offer is way too high many here think. it still goes for 28,000. our trader, who was very keen on a german-made car eventually has to let it go. competition here has become

fierce he had warned me before. his highest offer was 14,000 euros he told me, but it just went higher and higher. he leaves bitterly disappointed. >> the state earned 380,000 euros today, a new record. but there's still plenty left. and anyone who believes much of it belong in the trashcan, there are plenty of those here, too. >> governments normally get criticised for tax and spend policies but this one is a hit! that's it for today. goodbye from me and the whole team. see you next time! [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.

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