#AfD Brandenburg

[official-die-hauptstadt]

[shadowycloudartisanspy]

Sie haben Angst vor Musk - und vor der Meinungsfreiheit! 😌

[head-post]

Ruling SPD wins Brandenburg election contested by AfD

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling Social Democrats secured the most votes in the Brandenburg election after a tight contest by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

According to Sunday’s results, the SPD won 30.9 per cent of the vote, whereas the national-oriented AfD gained 29.2 per cent.

However, the AfD delivered its best ever result in the eastern state of Brandenburg, increasing its share by six percentage points. Co-chair Tino Chrupalla welcomed the performance of his party and stated that they would now assume the role of the main opposition in Brandenburg.

The Greens, the most dangerous party of Germany, is no longer in the state parliament, that’s the good outcome of the election night, alongside our very good result.

Scholz’s coalition partners, the Greens and the Free Democrats (FDP), suffered one of the worst results in the elections. They failed to pass the 5-per-cent threshold required to win seats in the state parliament.

Meanwhile, the newly formed Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) came third with 13.5 per cent of the vote. As a result, the BSW became an influential voice, with the coalition depending on its decisions.

The initial voter turnout of 72.9 per cent was an all-time high in the state of Brandenburg. Exit polls on Sunday showed that many voters were also concerned about their economic well-being, critical of Ukraine’s military support, and demanding tougher measures to curb illegal migration.

Despite the SPD’s victory in the state, almost 48 per cent of those who voted for the party decided to do so due to their support for the Social Democrat premier Dietmar Woidke, who has been leading Brandenburg for more than a decade. In fact, without the support of influential figures, this would have been the second major electoral defeat for the Chancellor’s party.

Read more HERE

[timelessnewsnow]

As the polls close at 6 p.m. (1600 GMT), early indications suggest that the AfD may surpass Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), building on its recent successes in other eastern states.

Know more 👆🏻

[darkfighterofblackshadowdeath]

Elon Musk needs to go play on some train tracks. That asshole is trying to get his grimy hands into the German elections next.

He's had too much influence in German politics already (looking at you Brandenburg). I don't want him to buy votes for the AfD. Actually I don't want him to talk or even think about any elections anywhere ever (again). Motherfucker needs to Starship without damaging our atmosphere.

[shadowycloudartisanspy]

Dr. Hans-Christoph Berndt spricht Klartext nach der Wahla

[sgiandubh]

A statement

From S's IG stories - the 💖emoji superimposed by himself on The Guardian's shared reel about a protest near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin (January 25, 2025). The event was organized in response to Elon Musk's more than questionable statements in support of Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) Neo-Nazi party.

On behalf of all my fellow Europeans, thank you, this time. Very much welcome, as the ghost of Munich's Beer Hall Putsch roams our continent, with a vengeance.

The turmoil is real and this statement is honest. The trolls will probably not share it, simply because this is out of their reach, understanding and scope.

Let it be known, though. Now that is something very brave, especially when taking into account the general atmosphere (dour enough) and his own circumstances (no future projects apparently in sight). Noted and commended as such.

PS: thank you, sweetheart, for letting me know. You know who you are.

[wladimirkaminer]

Trump möchte Grönland kaufen oder zur Not auch besetzen und schließt einen militärischen Einsatz auf dem Eis nicht mehr aus, er beansprucht die Wasserstraße von Panama und möchte den Golf von Mexico in Golf von Amerika umtaufen. Außerdem soll sich der Staat Kanada auflösen. Schade, dass die Journalisten so schnell aufgehört haben, ihn weiter zu seinen Plänen zu befragen. Ich bin sicher, Trump hat noch ganz viele andere Ideen, die die Welt verändern. Man könnte zum Beispiel das Weiße Haus schwarz übermalen, am Südpol Chicken Wings ansiedeln und die Pinguine auf Grönland abschieben. Ach, es gibt noch so viel zu tun!

Der Mann ist eine Maschine für Produktion von Unsinn und Zeitungsüberschriften. Da kann ihm nur sein Freund Elon Musk Paroli bieten, der sich in den deutschen Wahlkampf einmischt. Böse Zungen behaupten, er möchte demnächst als Dankeschön für seine Wahlhilfe von der AfD Brandenburg geschenkt bekommen.

Die deutsche Presse tut es sich schwer in der Kunst, Trump lieben zu lernen, sie übt noch und das ist, zugegeben, eine schwierige Aufgabe. Denn die Wahrheit ist nicht zu übersehen, der König ist nackt. Ein Haufen ungebildeter alter Jungs mit niedriger sozialer Verantwortung und dem Intellekt einer Fliege haben das Rad der Weltmacht übernommen und drehen mit großem Enthusiasmus nach rechts, wohin denn sonst. Und die Welt schaut mit Erstaunen zu, kommen wir aus der steilen Kurve heil raus? Dass es so sein wird, ist nicht gesagt. Die Schweizer Wissenschaftler haben herausgefunden, dass dumme Fliegen länger als die klugen leben, Intelligenz ist nicht immer vom Vorteil, die Hirnaktivität kostet zusätzliche Energie.

Die deutsche Presse gibt sich aber ehrlich Mühe, um diesem wirren Summen die Form einer politischen Handlung zu geben. So betitelte das Magazin Der Spiegel neulich Trumps Rede als „Grönland- Debatte“. Eine Debatte wird im deutschen als „organisierte Diskussion“ definiert, bei der die Teilnehmer über ein Thema streiten. Aber niemand streitet mit Trump über Grönland, nicht mal die Eisbären.

Der AfD-Versteher Elon für Deutschland Musk wird in den deutschen Medien fast immer mit dem Zusatzwort „Genie“ erwähnt. Dabei hat die Welt schon oft genug mitbekommen, wie dieser Mann spricht, schreibt und denkt. Die Bezeichnung kann vielleicht dadurch erklärt werden, dass „Genie“ im Deutschen gleichzeitig auch ein anderes Wort für Depp ist. Dafür spricht, dass die seriöse „Deutsche Zeitschrift für europäisches Denken ‚Merkur‘ ihn kürzlich als „megareiche Dumpfbacke von einem Trottel“ und schlicht als „Idiot“ bezeichnet hat.

Das Tandem Trump und Musk, eine Verschmelzung von Macht und Kapital, wird ein riesiges Ego gebären, das von einem Spiegel zum anderem läuft und keine Ergebnisse braucht, um sich an sich selbst zu ergötzen. Ich wette, es wird folgendes passieren: Nichts.

Grönland wird weiter unter dänischer Obhut dahinschmelzen, der Panamakanal wird nicht austrocknen, Putin wird seinen Krieg weiterführen und sein Land in Armut und Isolation treiben. Trump wird mit dem russischen Führer kurz telefonieren und vom Telefon abspringen.

Sein Komplize die Dumpfbacke wird das Universum weiter „erobern“. Er wird zum Mars und zur Venus fliegen wollen, die Milchstrasse in eine Coca-Cola-Straße umbenennen, den Mond für sich allein beeinspruchen und seinen nächsten Sohn XXL nennen. Mit der Zeit geht das Feuerwerk aus und Trump wird zu einem Geräusch, an den sich alle gewöhnt haben, ein Geräusch, mit dem die USA, der einstige Weltpolizist, auf alles pfeift. Der Planet dreht sich weiter und bald wird eine neue Sau durchs Dorf gejagt. Eine Geschichte endet und eine neue beginnt.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Tim Ganser at The UnPopulist:

Since the end of World War II, Germans had by and large steadfastly resisted voting for far-right populists. That norm was shattered in the last decade by the success of the political party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), which seemed to gain more traction as it radicalized into a full-blown, hard right populist party. A year into its existence, spurred by widespread discontent with German fiscal policy, the AfD won seven seats in European Parliament. In 2017, after undergoing a hard-right turn, it won 94 seats in the German federal elections, good for third place overall. For the past year, the AfD has consistently ranked second in Politico’s poll aggregator tracking the public’s voting intentions.

In this Sunday’s European Parliament elections, roughly 1 in 6 German voters is expected to cast a ballot for the AfD, whose members have trivialized the Holocaust, encouraged their followers to chant Nazi slogans, and participated in a secret conference where they fantasized about forced deportations of naturalized citizens they derisively call “Passport Germans.” Worse still, the AfD is predicted to be the strongest party, with up to a third of the vote share, in the three elections for state parliament in Saxony and Thuringia on Sept. 1 and in Brandenburg on Sept. 22. And in generic polls for a hypothetical federal election, the AfD fares even better than it did in any previous election. How did Germany get to this point?

The AfD’s Origin Story

The AfD was founded in early 2013 by a group of conservatives, led by the economics professor, Bernd Lucke, greatly disillusioned with then-Chancellor Angela Merkel’s fiscal policy. In their view, the European debt crisis had revealed deep instability within the eurozone project as smaller nations found themselves unable to cope with the economic demands of membership, and they believed Merkel’s focus on saving the euro was coming at the expense of German economic interests. This was, however, the opposite of a populist complaint—in fact, the AfD was initially referred to as a “Professorenpartei” (a professor’s party) because of the party’s early support from various economics professors who were more interested in fiscal policy than catering to popular will. In its earliest days, the AfD could best be characterized as a cranky but respectable party of fiscal hardliners. Its anti-establishment posture stemmed entirely from its belief in the necessity of austerity. Even its name could be construed less as nationalistic and more an answer to the dictum coined by Merkel—“alternativlose Politik” (policy for which there is no alternative)—to defend her bailouts during the eurozone crisis.

Although the AfD had launched an abstract economic critique of Merkel’s policies that could be hard to parse for non-experts, its contrarian stance resonated with a significant portion of Germans. Right out of the gate, the AfD obtained the highest vote share of any new party since 1953, nearly clearing the 5% threshold for inclusion in the Bundestag, Germany’s Parliament, in its first electoral go round. Its success was also measurable in terms of membership, passing the 10,000 mark almost immediately after its formation. The rapid increase in membership, however, helped lay the groundwork for its turn toward right-wing populism. Perhaps due to pure negligence—or a combination of calculation and ambition—the party’s founders did little to stop right-wing populists from swelling its rolls. And as the German economy emerged through the European debt crisis in good financial shape, fiscal conservatism naturally faded from the public’s consciousness. However, a new European crisis having to do with migrants came to dominate the popular imagination. The AfD hardliners seized on the growing anti-migrant opinion, positioning the AfD as its champion, thereby cementing the party’s turn towards culture war issues like immigration and national identity.

Starting in late 2014, organized right-wing protesters took to the streets to loudly rail against Germany’s decision to admit Muslim migrants, many fleeing the Syrian civil war. The AfD right wing’s desire to become the political home of nativism led to a rift within the party that culminated in founder Bernd Lucke’s being ousted as leader in 2015, and his replacement with hardliner Frauke Petry. Lucke left the party entirely, citing its right-wing shift, following in the footsteps of what other party leaders had already done and more would do in the coming year. Up until this point, the AfD unwittingly helped the cause of right-wing populism. If the reactionary far-right had tried to start a party from scratch, it would have likely failed. The AfD, after all, was created within a respectable mold, trading on the credentials of its earliest founders and leaders. But with saner voices now pushed out, right-wing populists had the party with public respectability and an established name all to themselves. And they deliberately turned it into a Trojan horse for reactionary leaders who wanted to “fight the system from within.

[...]

A New Normal in Germany

As right-wing populist positions have become part of the political discourse, Germany is now in the exact same position as some of its European neighbors with established hardline populist parties. In Italy, Giorgia Meloni ascended to the premiership in October 2022 as the head of her neo-fascist Fratelli d’Italia party, which is poised to perform well in the upcoming European Parliament elections. In France, the Marine Le Pen-led far-right Rassemblement National (RN) is set to bag a third of votes in those elections, roughly double what President Macron’s governing coalition is expected to obtain.

What makes the situation in Germany especially worrisome is that, unlike in France and Italy, far-right parties had failed to garner any meaningful vote share in nationwide elections until just seven years ago; indeed, until the 2017 federal election, there had never been a right-wing populist party that had received more than six percent of the national vote in Germany. The nation’s special vigilance toward far right ethnonationalism in light of its history of Nazi atrocities was expected to spare Germany the resurgence of far-right populism. But it actually led to complacency among mainstream parties. By 2017, the AfD—already in its right-wing populist phase—received nearly 13% of the vote in the federal election to become the third-strongest parliamentary entity. And by then it had also made inroads in all state parliaments as well as the European Parliament. The norm against it was officially gone.

To be sure, the AfD is not on track to take over German politics. It currently has the fifth most seats among all German parties in the Bundestag, fourth most seats among German parties in the European Parliament, and is a distant eighth in party membership. Nor is it currently a threat to dominate European politics—late last month, the AfD was ousted from the Marine Le Pen-led Identity and Democracy (ID) party coalition, the most right-wing group in the European Parliament. Le Pen, herself a far-right radical, explained the AfD’s expulsion by describing the party as “clearly controlled by radical groups.” But none of the above offer good grounds for thinking the AfD will be relegated to the fringes of German or European politics.

After the election, the AfD could rejoin ID, or it could form a new, even more radical right-wing presence within the European Parliament. Some fear that the AfD could potentially join forces with Bulgaria’s ultranationalist Vazrazhdane. Its leader, Kostadin Kostadinov, said that AfD’s expulsion from ID could create an opening to form “a real conservative and sovereigntist group in the European Parliament.” Also, ID’s removal of the AfD wasn’t due to its stated policy platform being out of step with Europe’s right-wing populist project. Rather, it was because the AfD’s leading candidate, Maximillian Krah, was implicated in a corruption and spying scandal involving China and Russia, and because he said he would not automatically construe a member of the Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS) to be a criminal. Absent these entirely preventable missteps, the AfD would be in good standing with right-wing populist partners in Europe.

Seeing far-right Nazi-esque Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) rise in prominence in Germany is a sad sight.

[mariacallous]

A video of young far-right voters singing an anti-foreigner song at an Alternative for Germany (AfD) party election celebration has triggered outrage online.

The video, in which supporters of the far-right party sing about “kicking” foreigners out, was shot on Sunday evening as they celebrated the party' strong performance in the state election results of Germany’s eastern state of Brandenburg. The AfD came in second at 29.2% behind the center-left Social Democrats, which got 30.2%, increasing its voter haul on the last Brandenburg vote five years ago by 5.7 percentage points. In an apparent attempt to antagonize a small counter demonstration by anti-fascist activists, the young AfD members, who had gathered in a Potsdam bar, started playing a song set to a 2011 dance hit through a portable speaker that included the lyric: “Hey, it’s happening; we’re kicking them out.” One of the partygoers also held up a sign saying: “DEPORT MILLIONS.” According to a German tabloid, Bild, the rewritten song also included the lyric: “This is JA music; every club is on fire here. We’re celebrating like never before; throw your hands in the air.”

JA is the abbreviation for Junge Alternative, the AfD's youth organization.

The video caused outrage after it was posted on the social media platform X and prompted one former Green politician to file a criminal complaint, saying the song incites racial hatred and violence.

AfD targets young people

However, the fact that it was a group of youngsters celebrating the AfD’s results with beer, music, and dancing surprised few.

Data obtained by the German statistics platform Statista on the demographics of the voters in this year’s Brandenburg’s state election showed that 64% of the AfD party’s voters are between 16 and 34 years old, with 31% between the ages of 16 and 24.

German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported that the AfD targets young voters through the savvy use of social media, particularly on the Instagram and TikTok platforms.

The AfD’s Maximilian Krah, a member of the European Parliament, regularly appears on TikTok. In one video, he is seen saying: "One in three young men in Germany has never had a girlfriend. Are you one of them?

"Don't watch porn; don't vote Green; go outside into the fresh air,” he continues. “Be confident. And above all, don't believe you need to be nice and soft. Real men stand on the far right. Real men are patriots. That's the way to find a girlfriend!"

German federal government drifts right

Fierce criticism of Krah and the AfD as a whole, however, has failed to douse the growing popularity of the party, and it now poses a significant challenge to the center-left governing coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Earlier this month the AfD became the first far-right party to win an election in Germany since the 1930s when it won local elections in the state of Thuringia, so last weekend’s narrow election squeak has piled more pressure on a chancellor already under pressure from woeful opinion polls and infighting in his coalition.

In what has been seen as an apparent attempt to steal some of the AfD’s thunder and shore up its own position on September 9, the federal government announced plans to impose tighter controls at all the country’s land borders to tackle “irregular migration” and protect the public from threats such as Islamist extremism. On September 11, the international human rights organization, Amnesty International, joined 26 other non-governmental organizations and associations in an appeal to the German federal government to reverse its plans. They reminded it of its obligations under EU and international law to respect a refugee’s right to seek asylum. “Seeking asylum is a human right. Calls to turn back people seeking protection at German borders are clearly contrary to European law,” the organization wrote on its website. The secretary general of Amnesty International, Julia Duchrow, said: “The current debate about an alleged emergency situation and rejections of those seeking protection at German borders endanger European cohesion.”

[tanadrin]

Looks like the SPD may have squeaked it out in Brandenburg, which is good news--interestingly, their polling numbers went way up right before the election, which makes me wonder (and certainly hope) that their comparatively dismal state in other polls is at least partly an artifact of expressive responses or non-response bias ultimately counteracted by voters coming home, at least to oppose the AfD. The Greens and Die Linke got totally wiped out, though. Seems increasingly clear that the BSW is just gonna cannibalize Die Linke until there's nothing left of them.

But does mean that the Landtag is now precisely a 50/50 split between centrist parties (SPD, CDU) and two different flavors of complete asshole (BSW, AfD). Kind of awkward.

[justforbooks]

Elon Musk makes surprise appearance at AfD event in eastern Germany

Tycoon tells 4,500 people at campaign event in Halle to be proud of German culture in speech via video link

Elon Musk made a surprise appearance during Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) election campaign event in Halle in eastern Germany on Saturday, speaking publicly in support of the far-right party for the second time in as many weeks.

Addressing a hall of 4,500 people alongside the party’s co-leader, Alice Weidel, Musk spoke live via video link about preserving German culture and protecting the German people.

“It’s good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything,” Musk said.

Last week, the US billionaire caused uproar after he made a gesture that drew online comparisons to a Nazi salute during President Donald Trump’s inauguration festivities.

On Saturday, he said “children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great grandparents”, apparently referring to Germany’s Nazi past.

“There is too much focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that,” he said.

Musk, who spoke of suppression of speech under Germany’s government, has previously attacked German chancellor Olaf Scholz on X.

For his part, Scholz on Tuesday said he does not support freedom of speech when it is used for extreme-right views.

Musk spoke in favour of voting for the far-right party. “I’m very excited for the AfD, I think you’re really the best hope for Germany’s fight for a great future for Germany,” he told onlookers.

Weidel thanked him, said the Republicans were making America great again, and called on her supporters to make Germany great again.

Earlier this month, Musk hosted Weidel in an interview on X, stirring concern about election meddling.

Despite winter weather, anti-far-right campaigners were out in force on Saturday, with about 100,000 gathering around Berlin’s Brandenburg gate and up to 20,000 in Cologne, including people of all ages carrying colourful umbrellas.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[head-post]

CDU’s Merz looks set to be next chancellor, AfD surges

The leader of the CDU/CSU alliance, Friedrich Merz, who will become Germany’s new chancellor according to preliminary results of the German election, intends to form a new government by Easter.

Merz said during his speech: “We have almost eight weeks left until Easter, and I think this should be enough time to form a government in Germany.”

According to election commission data from the counting of ballots in 267 out of 299 constituencies, the CDU/CSU is leading the German election with 28.5 per cent of the vote, while the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) comes second with 20.9 per cent. The SPD is in third place with 16.4 per cent.

AfD candidate for chancellor Alice Weidel called her party’s victory a “historic success” and said she was ready to discuss coalition formation.

As the results show, the states that were formerly part of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) voted strongly for the right-wing party: the AfD received almost 39 per cent in Thuringia, over 37 per cent in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, over 35 per cent in McLenburg, and over 32 per cent in Brandenburg.

Merz, who has previously maintained close relations with the US, criticised Washington for interfering in the election, calling it “absolutely outrageous.” He said his main goal was to achieve unity in Europe and make it more independent of the US.

Despite the criticism, Donald Trump congratulated Merz on his victory, saying Germans are tired of unwise policies, especially on energy and immigration. However, Merz believes that Trump has already shown that his administration does not care about Europe.

Merz’s first statements

Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz plans to form a new German government after early elections to the Bundestag before the Catholic Easter, which is celebrated on April 20. He believes the remaining eight weeks are enough time to do so.

Merz ruled out the possibility of a coalition with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AdG) party. He noted that there are serious differences between the parties on foreign policy and security issues.

At the same time, AfD co-chair Tino Chrupalla said Merz could only realise some of his election promises with their help. If Merz decides to team up with the losing parties, it could lead to new elections sooner than four years from now.

Merz also said that sending European troops to Ukraine is not on the agenda. He believes that more support should be given to Ukraine in its defence.

Merz supports supplying Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, unlike Scholz. He had earlier promised to give Russia 24 hours to stop strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure or else it would start supplying missiles. However, Merz later said that he had not made any ultimatums.

Voice from Europe

Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont wrote on X:

“Without wishing to downplay them, the results of the AfD, which actually doubled its representation, do not match the assistance they received and the expectations they created. They received public support from the United States and the richest man in the world and his algorithms; they imposed their political agenda in the campaign (security, immigration); and they were the potential political beneficiaries of the Islamist attacks of recent weeks…”

Italian journalist and activist Maurizio Belpietro commented on X:

“In the German elections, the CDU/CSU leads, the SPD suffers a dramatic collapse, while Alice Weidel’s group doubles its votes. A non-electoral opening to migrants to ‘help’ the economy was crucial.”

The French Les Républicains party’s François-Xavier Bellamy wrote on X:

“The CDU-CSU won a convincing victory in Germany tonight. This is the result of the clarifications made by @_FriedrichMerz on security, border protection, economic freedom, return to nuclear power. This renewed right-wing movement is winning everywhere in Europe.”

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, LFI leader, noted:

“In Germany, the politics of the centre-left PS EELV party led to the usual disaster: the victory of the far right and the breakthrough of the extreme right. By aligning itself with anti-racist and anti-liberal politics, Die Linke doubles its score and returns to the big stage. The future becomes possible again.”

Read more HERE

[beardedmrbean]

Thousands of people protested in the eastern German city of Leipzig on Thursday after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) helped to pass a controversial motion in the German parliament demanding hard-line migration reforms.

Police said some 5,000 demonstrators gathered, calling for politicians to "defend the right to asylum" and "rebuild the firewall," a term referring to mainstream parties' long-established refusal to work with the AfD.

Participants brought cardboard boxes to symbolically erect a "firewall" against the far right.

Hundreds also protested in the nearby city of Dresden, the capital of the state of Saxony, where conservative leader Friedrich Merz held a campaign meeting.

The historic vote on Wednesday saw the AfD - which is polling in second place nationwide on more than 20% - involved in a parliamentary majority for the first time in its history.

Another bill to reform Germany's migration laws is set to be introduced in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, by the conservative CDU/CSU alliance on Friday. The AfD has signalled it will support the measure.

Germany's election campaign has been dominated by the issue of illegal migration since an attack in the southern city of Aschaffenburg last week, in which an Afghan national is the main suspect.

Protests are also expected Thursday evening outside the party headquarters of the CDU in Berlin.

Tens of thousands of people protested at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin last week, with further demonstrations planned in the coming days.