#Alternative for Germany AfD

[l-in-c-future]

The Future of Germany and her new vision for the future of Eurasia

In exclusive interviews with Alice Weidel, foreign policy spokesman Matthias Moosdorf and powerful ideologue Björn Höcke, DW’s Richard Walker and Rosalia Romaniec scrutinize the AfD’s views on Germany’s alliances and NATO Article 5 commitments to the Baltic states and Poland, its skepticism of the United States, possible future architectures for European defense, who should have nuclear weapons, future ties with Russia and China, and how Germany should act in a Taiwan conflict scenario.

Includes analysis from leading international experts on Russia, China, the US and Europe: Alexander Gabuev (Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center), Amanda Hsiao (International Crisis Group), Katarzyna Pisarska (Warsaw Security Forum), Peter Rough (Hudson Institute), and Judy Dempsey (Carnegie Europe).

What do AfD's ideologies and policies imply? 1. Possible Germanic exit of NATO and EU.

2. Prussia back but this Prussia is Pro-Russia. Plausibly the entire Germany will become the new "East" Germany if this party becomes future Germany government. Join the pan-Russian new empire under Putin.

3. AfD 'downplayed' Nazi ideology doesn't mean they do not endorse such ideology. It is just a carpeted political expression.

4. They wrongly pin that Germany 'should have' closer relationship with PRC because Germany has already have quite close economic relationship with PRC. Germany is far less much political hostile to PRC in previous governments compares to USA and other EU members. However, the 'closer ties' under the pro-Putin plus package (including Xi) will mean an AfD government will not be a friend of Taiwan. 5. While USA is under the seige of internal political turmoils, demanding ALL US troops and bases to leave Germany is a whole different matter. It is more than a 'Germany first' rhetoric (ironically, this echoes with D Trump's MAGA and America first ideology regarding NATO). Therefore an AfD government has much broader consequences on NATO.

6. If an AfD Germany government executes NATO exist , it will have destructive consequence to the Allied forces because Germany is not the only country being affected by the rise of far-right and right wing nationalistic and ethnic 'purity' driven populism. Germany is one of the greatest power within EU and NATO on Europe. The recent EU election already revealed prevailence of right wing 'conservative' parties. The early signal of what the future of EU might look like already on the horizon. If AfD becomes a Germany government, this regime will further EU further towards far-right wing.

7. Implications to global security is dim. Both sides of the Atlantics resembly terribly close to the prevailing ideological and political landscapes in 1930s before WW2. This is unprecedented since the beginning of last century. Whether it was the rise and competition of fascism and communism between the global powers, it is a high fire political seasons for conflicts and wars. Yet worse than the 1930s, the current Western democratic world doesn't have strong countering forces to deter far right emergence internally and attacks of foreign autocratic superpower Russia because the people's belief about alliance and democracy fades like a rapidly dying person. Whether these populistic parties become authoritarian governments BECAUSE PEOPLE CHOOSE them and therefore such governments tighten relationships with other existing autocracies such as Russia, China and ANY other similar regimes, the future of democracy of Eurasia doesn't look bright.

Conclusion

As I wrote before, unless the Western governments have will to address the root causes of the rise of populism and ultra-nationalism to smooth people's anger and disenfranchising and distrust of the existing establishments, the fires of extremisms will burn down the current democratic world order.

EU needs to reflect its ways of handling politics and polices. Member nations are grunting and grudging because they feel like losing too much national sovereignties while EU is bureaucratic, rigid, and too imposing without regarding individual countries' circumstances.

What the Western world MUST learn from history is that it was their own disintegration and internal divisions that caused the demises of every previous empire and kingdom.

Not that just the side of Russia, China or whoever may break the last straws of their long broken dockey necks. They should be aware that it doesn't need Russia and China to officially invade them. Rottening from inside out was the more true cause of the demise of a country BEFORE external forces come in. Russia surely has historical great motive to break the democratic Eurasia but China doesn't seem to benefit much from a WW3 given her current dim economic situation. Any external political turmoils are as bad as to China as the rest of the world. "China" is not a one type fit all generic excuse and explainations for ALL problems of the Western politics. A wall doesn't suddenly collapse unless it is already weakened significantly.

[ireton]

Alice Weidel - AfD candidate to replace Scholz in the February 2025 federal election.

AfD - Alternative für Deutschland - Alternative for Germany

[justinspoliticalcorner]

David Badash at NCRM:

Vice President-elect JD Vance, the Republican Senator from Ohio, is facing criticism both domestically and internationally for endorsing and seemingly defending an op-ed by Elon Musk that is supportive of a far-right German political party reportedly linked to neo-Nazis. The New York Times late last month described the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, as “a group with ties to neo-Nazis whose youth wing has been classified as ‘confirmed extremist’ by German domestic intelligence.” The paper of record also noted that AfD has been “called a threat to German democracy” by Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz and others. [...] On Thursday, Vance reposted a thread containing what is allegedly Musk’s op-ed translated into English, titled, “Only the AfD Can Save Germany.”

The Vice President-elect then wrote: “I’m not endorsing a party in the German elections, as it’s not my country and we hope to have good relations with all Germans. But this is an interesting piece. Also interesting; American media slanders AfD as Nazi-lite, But AfD is most popular in the same areas of Germany that were most resistant to the Nazis.” Vance’s remarks were quickly criticized, with some discussing post-World War II German reunification in 1990, following the fall of the Berlin Wall, to explain how geography has little to do with opposing Nazism. Others suggested Vance’s geographic claim was actually wrong. And despite Vance’s claim, The Economist as some noted, in 2019 reported: “Post-war population transfers changed politics across Germany,” and added that “a new paper finds an uncomfortable overlap between the parts of Germany that support the afd and those that voted for the Nazis in 1933. At first glance, the link is invisible. The Nazis fared well in northern states like Schleswig-Holstein; the afd did best in the former East Germany.”

VP-elect JD Vance praised German Nazi-adjacent far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) Party, falsely claimed that AfD is most popular in the same areas of Germany that were most resistant to the Nazis.

WRONG, JD: The areas where the AfD were the strongest were generally the same areas the Nazis were strongest in.

[a-typical]

Why is right-wing populism outmatching left-wing populism across the Globe?

It’s so much easier to make people feel afraid than it is to make them feel hopeful or safe or supported. Right wing populism preys on people’s fears and stokes pre-existing anxieties, while also providing an individual “strongman” that people can look to for resolution. Simple and effective.

If we look at left-wing policies or general ideological talking points, they require both:

an inherent empathy/sympathy for strangers and community alike

a strong persistence to work against pre-existing institutions/structures to achieve that which isn’t often simple

It requires more effort, more funding, and occasionally can’t be simplified into layman’s terms, which ostracizes those who can’t reach higher education. This, above all else, is what makes right-wing populist rhetoric so effective - it’s approachable. It doesn’t ask you to care for others (quite the opposite) outside of your own interests. It’s comforting to have a powerful leader who “isn’t afraid to speak the truth” or “tell it like it is”, when the preceding leaders have all spoken outside your comprehension and made you feel isolated from your country in their education, class, and/or status.

Really, right-wing populism is in vogue because it’s so much easier to understand and so much easier to exercise. It doesn’t ask for much - it certainly doesn’t ask for us to follow rules or facts. It’s chameleon, and its rhetoric shapes to what would reach the most people regardless of how plausible, reasonable, or respectable it is.

[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…?

[davidaugust]

I read some of AfD’s (they’re the extreme right-wing party in Germany that musk endorses) manifesto for germany so you don’t have to.

The document basically has all the n*zi hits (like blood and soil) of mein kampf and the internal inconsistencies and unfeasibilities of the US heritage foundation and 45’s project 2025.

Good to know fascism still makes hateful promises it cannot keep. The ideas of these wannabe fourth reich failures need to be denigrated, mocked and discarded.

[coochiequeens]

Germany.......

By Marielena Meder December 7, 2024

Germany’s Free Democratic Party (FPD) is seeking to prohibit the re-election of two female members who voted against the nation’s radical self-identification law. Katja Adler and Linda Teuteberg are the only two women in the FDP who voted against the law, with both expressing concerns about the implications gender ideology has for women’s safety.

In April of 2024, the German Bundestag voted for the Self-Determination Act, which allows people to simply change their sex and first name at the registry office and threatens with a fine of €10,000 if someone reveals their previous first name and real sex. With 251 votes against, two women from the FDP, Katja Adler and Linda Teuteberg, also voted against this proposed law. 

In a personal statement, Adler pointed out that the law would result in women having fewer rights to single-sex spaces, and that it contradicted with the German Constitution’s guarantee that “men and women have equal rights.” Adler argued that the clause would be rendered unenforceable if men were capable of declaring themselves “women” at any time.

During an online event with women’s rights group Frauenheldinnen, Adler also expressed concerns about how the law impacted minors. The Self-Determination Act allows parents to change their child’s name and sex marker from birth, but also allows children to seek legal name and sex marker changes without parental consent via a youth court order. Reflecting on the dramatic changes, Adler said: “I cannot and will not agree to that.”

See rest of article

By Marielena Meder December 16, 2024

The German federal state of Saxony has released records on the amount of trans-identified males housed in women’s prisons, but only after demanding an egregious €1,100 fee. The effort, spearheaded by Let Women Speak, revealed that a number of male sex offenders were being housed with women.

In May of 2024, Initiative “Let Women Speak” (Lasst Frauen Sprechen) began to file Freedom of Information requests requesting data on the amount of males being housed with women in various state facilities across Germany. Most of the states responded with data which indicated that trans-identified males had been transferred to women’s prisons far ahead of any federal law requiring them to be accommodated according to their “gender identity.”

The Ministry of Justice in Saxony, a region led by the pro-trans Green Party, was the only federal state which demanded a prohibitive fee of €1,100 to access the records. As a result, Let Women Speak was forced to withdraw their request and requested local assistance in getting the information.

In response to their call for help, right-wing political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) submitted an inquiry asking how many individuals with a “deviating gender identity” had been imprisoned in the state of Saxony since January 2020. The Ministry of Justice responded to their request, admitting that there were nine people with “deviating gender identities” in their facilities. However, they did not provide any information about what sex these people are or where they had been accommodated. The Ministry further revealed that inmates who legally changed their gender identity prior to being imprisoned would not be recorded as having a “deviating gender identity.”

German outlet NiUS also facilitated a request for similar information and received a response from the Ministry of Justice in Saxony indicating that three males had been housed at the Chemnitz correctional facility for women between 2023 and 2024. The inmates had criminal records indicating assault, sexual assault, sexual harassment and assault on law enforcement officers. One of them was convicted of rape.

While the identities of the men are not known, multiple female inmates have come forward this year to report that they had been housed with a sexually abusive trans-identified man in Chemnitz.

According to the women, who spoke to Freie Presse earlier this year, the trans-identified male inmate repeatedly ambushed them during activities and was aggressive, verbally abusive and threatened to beat them.

The man had also reportedly forced the women, including female correctional officers, to watch him masturbate. According to Freie Presse, he was eventually transferred back to the men’s prison.

In another incident out of Chemnitz, a trans-identified man identified as Jan Daniel K. almost murdered a female correctional officer by strangulation. According to BILD, Jan Daniel was a violent criminal and pimp who had been sentenced to 13 years in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend. He declared himself “female” during his sentencing hearing, and was transferred to a women’s prison shortly after.

Jan Daniel targeted the female correctional officer after being penalized by her, and took his revenge by dragging her into his cell during routine checks and strangling her. It is unclear whether he was transferred back to the male estate or was allowed to remain in the women’s facility.

Despite there being several known problems in Chemnitz as a result of male inmates being moved in, the Saxon Green Party initiated a change to the state’s prison law in December 2023 intended to further satisfy “trans inmates.”

The draft of the law states its intention is to improve the treatment of “transsexual, intersex and non-binary prisoners” and “prisoners with diverse or no sex marker” in their legal documents. The law includes “sexual identity” as a protected characteristic, thus removing the principle of separation between male and female inmates as soon as a detainee proclaims he is a “woman.”

The law would further strengthen Germany’s already-radical gender Self-Determination Act (SBGG), which came into force November 1. The SBGG allows individuals to change their name and sex with few restrictions and imposes harsh punishments for those who fail to treat individuals in accordance with their self-declared gender identity.

Speaking to Reduxx, Hanna-Katarina Zippel of Let Women Speak said that she was “shocked” with the information released by the Ministry of Justice in Saxony, which demonstrated that the government was moving men into women’s prisons even before they were legally obligated to.

“It was shocking to learn that so many men were already being held in women’s prisons even before the self-identification law came into force. At the same time, however, the fact that so many media outlets and also some politicians took up our research shows me that it was worth making the inquiry to begin with,” she said.

“In order to fight for the withdrawal of self-identification law, it is crucial to educate people, especially women, about what it really means for them and to show them real-life examples. I hope that with our research we have reached many people who were not aware of the consequences of the new German self-ID law and that we have encouraged many people to speak out critically, so that hopefully one day no woman will have to endure being incarcerated with a man anymore.”

Despite female inmates having come forward about abuses they have suffered, all 16 federal state ministries deny that any sexual assaults have taken place in female facilities as a result of trans-identified males being housed with women.

René Müller, Federal Chairman of the Association of Prison Officers in Germany, has publicly expressed doubts about the official information. Speaking to Die Welt, Müller said that not every incident would have been recorded or reported by those affected. In its response to the AfD, the Ministry of Justice in Saxony also admitted that the sexual abuse or harassment of female inmates by trans-identified males would not be recorded.

[tmarshconnors]

Stop Using "Nazi" Out of Context!

Today's polarised political climate, it’s become all too common to see accusations being thrown around with little regard for their actual meaning. One of the most alarming trends is the misuse of the word "Nazi" to discredit or silence opposing viewpoints. In Germany, this is particularly evident when discussing the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Many supporters of the AfD are often labeled as Nazis, but this oversimplification is not only unfair but also dangerous.

As someone living in the UK who supports the Alternative for Germany (AfD), I find it frustrating that political discourse so often descends into name-calling and false associations. Simply supporting a political party like AfD, which focuses on issues like national sovereignty, immigration control, and Euroscepticism. Nobody with these values should ever be called “Nazi”

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is a right-wing political party that advocates for stricter immigration controls, preservation of national identity, and skepticism towards the European Union. It appeals to those who feel that traditional political parties have ignored their concerns—especially about issues like immigration, national sovereignty, and economic policy.

Seriously what I ask you what has that got to do with being a Nazi?!?! Oh I know. I shall tell you NOTHING!

Us AfD supporters come from diverse backgrounds. Some are disillusioned former voters of centrist parties who feel that their views are no longer represented by the political mainstream. Others are concerned about the cultural and economic impacts of mass migration. Still, others are simply advocates of a more limited government and national pride.

None of these positions automatically equate to Nazism. In fact, they represent opinions that are shared by many people across Europe and the world, regardless of their political alignment.

Why "Nazi" is a Dangerous Label?

I don’t know why you wouldn’t know why it’s dangerous but for the less educated out of The term "Nazi" refers to members of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), led by Adolf Hitler, responsible for one of the darkest chapters in human history the Holocaust and World War II. To casually throw around such a loaded term diminishes the horrors that actual Nazis inflicted and distorts historical memory. It also shuts down meaningful discussion.

Labeling AfD supporters as Nazis is a form of intellectual laziness. It avoids engaging with the real issues they care about and reduces complex political debates to crude name-calling. This tactic not only alienates people who might be open to dialogue, but it also entrenches divisions and fuels resentment.

Moreover, calling someone a Nazi is an accusation with serious implications. In Germany, Nazism is not just a political slur it carries legal weight. The country has strict laws against Nazi symbols, speech, and activities, which makes the label even more inflammatory. If every right-wing or nationalist stance is equated with Nazism, it dilutes the power of these laws and makes it harder to identify actual neo-Nazis who do pose a threat.

A REAL THREAT!

It’s vital to differentiate between political disagreement and extremism. Not every conservative or nationalist is an extremist. AfD supporters, like those of any political party, have a range of motivations and beliefs.

Many are simply frustrated with the status quo and seek change through democratic means. They participate in elections, engage in policy debates, and advocate for their vision of Germany’s future—just as supporters of other parties do. Political disagreement isn’t extremism. Far from it.

I genuinely can’t believe I have to explain this but the problem with labelling AfD supporters as Nazis is that it dismisses their legitimate concerns out of hand. Immigration, national identity, and economic sovereignty are valid topics for debate, and dismissing them as fascist talking points only serves to deepen the divide between different segments of society.

You MUST understand the political landscape of 21st-century Germany is not the same as it was in the 1930s. Comparing today’s AfD to the NSDAP of Hitler's era is misleading and historically inaccurate. While the AfD may take controversial positions, it operates within the framework of a democratic society. It faces scrutiny from the media, opposition from other political parties, and judgment from the electorate. Its rise is a reflection of the electorate’s discontent, not a return to fascism.

By placing It all together all right-wing movements under the Nazi label, we ignore the nuances and complexities of modern politics. People who support AfD aren’t advocating for a fascist dictatorship—they’re expressing their views on how Germany should be governed in a rapidly changing world.

What we need more of in today’s political discourse is open dialogue and a willingness to understand different perspectives. Disagreeing with AfD policies is entirely valid, but dismissing its supporters as Nazis is not a productive at all!

Try engaging in meaningful conversations about the concerns that drive people to support AfD can lead to better understanding and potentially even compromise.

It’s crucial to recognise that the misuse of the term "Nazi" ultimately harms the democratic process. When we reduce our opponents to caricatures, we lose the opportunity to engage in healthy, constructive debate. This is happening all over the western world. If we can’t have simple constructive conversations all the men and woman who fought for our freedom etc would of been for NOTHING!

Supporting the Alternative for Germany does not make someone a Nazi. It’s that simple!

[head-post]

Musk interviews German AfD leader

Elon Musk took his support for Germany’s right party (AfD) to a new level on Thursday by having a live chat with its leader Alice Weidel.

Musk and Alice Weidel’s virtual meeting on Thursday came amid growing criticism of the US billionaire over his active support for far-right parties opposed to the liberal establishment across Europe and accusations of interfering in Germany’s February 23 election campaign.

In the talk, Musk showered praise on the anti-immigrant AfD, which is second in opinion polls in Germany with 21.5 per cent, behind only the conservative CDU/CSU bloc.

The nearly 75-minute conversation covered everything from energy policy and education to their joint desire to cut German bureaucracy and prevent illegal immigration. Douglas Adams, Schopenhauer, the meaning of life, whether Adolf Hitler was a socialist or a far-right extremist, and how to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were also discussed.

Agree on everything

Musk and Weidel seemed to agree on everything, including the need to end hostilities in Ukraine, with Musk stating, “President Trump is going to solve this conflict very quickly.”

When asked”‘by what measures” that might happen, Musk seemed a little flustered. “To be clear, it’s up to President Trump. He is the commander-in-chief … I don’t want to speak for him …. But it does require strong leadership in the States.”

Asked by Weidel when he might be “ready to send human expeditions to Mars,” Elon Musk said he plans to send uncrewed spacecraft to the planet in about two years and crewed spacecraft in about four.

The billionaire said his goal was for “Martians” to be able to rescue Earthlings “in case of emergency … just as America saved Europe during World War II.”

Weidel ended the conversation after Musk outlined his life philosophy (“the question is more important than the answer”) with the help of Douglas Adams and told her about his teenage disagreements with Schopenhauer.

Musk on German politics

Musk has regularly commented on German politics since last month, when he backed the AfD, which has been classified as right-wing extremist by German intelligence. He called President Frank-Walter Steinmeier a “tyrant” for criticising the AfD and said Chancellor Olaf Scholz should resign after the terrorist attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg that killed six people.

Last week, Elon Musk published an article in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper in which he justified the AfD’s policies and said it was wrong to call the party extreme right-wing.

Weidel and other party leaders seemed emboldened after Trump won the US election in November. Musk’s support for the party appears to have further strengthened the AfD, analysts say, and could boost its popularity among the German electorate.

Discussing the Digital Services Act

Ahead of Thursday’s speech at XSpace, the European Commission said it would scrutinise whether the debate could lead to a breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA). A spokesperson for the DSA said it had no objection to the discussion per se, rather its interest lies in the suggestion that platform X is showing a predilection for certain types of topics.

A pressure group called LobbyControl, which favours greater transparency in European politics, said it was specifically looking into whether the debate had breached German campaign finance laws, suggesting it could be seen as political advertising.

Heightened tensions over Musk’s recent alleged meddling in German politics have prompted Germany’s lower house of parliament to investigate whether the digital discussion could be considered illegal.

A spokesman for Weidel denied the allegations, saying the speech did not amount to an illegal donation to the party, but was held as a legitimate expression of free speech that was not staged.

Germany’s Federal Network Agency said it would monitor whether any algorithms on the platform were manipulated before, during or after the debate and would pass any relevant information to the DSA.

Read more HERE

[ireton]

Alice Weidel AfD´s Chancellor Candidate Nordstream, Energy policy Closed German Borders

AfD - Alternative für Deutschland - Alternative for Germany

[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.

[spetura]

youtube ad: do you want to travel? do you want to learn new skills? do you want to meet fun people and do team building exercises?

me: no i will not be joining the army

youtube ad for the fucking AFD: aw :( we’ll ask again later

[amorphousgreydragon]

the US made the nazi police gustapo into the current Verfassungschutz in germany after the second world war because they wanted the exact same thing Stalin did- a bulwark against the other side's system of economics, and their ties to nazism and control over the german government (to aid the genocide on palestinians for example) continues to this day.

Musk simply wears his ties on his sleeve when he does Nazi salutes on live television.

"china is a hostile foreign government" to who lol?

the US is a "hostile foreign government" to like every other country on the planet