Germany: The Success of AfD Ignites Debate on Populism, the Dark Side of History

The German political public on Sunday evening, after the elections for the 19th Bundestag, is analyzing the results and preparing for a period in which, for the first time since World War II, representatives of a right-wing populist party will sit in the Bundestag.

The success of Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has established itself as the third political force in the Sunday elections, is the main topic of all news programs and round tables on election night. The traditional round table of the public service ARD, after the central news program, where the leaders of the parties elected to the Bundestag participate, was marked by the confrontation of six democratic parties with the AfD.

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According to estimates based on counted votes, AfD won 13 percent of the votes, thus becoming the third political force in the country. Established parties, as shown by the meeting in the ARD studio, find it difficult to cope with this fact. Because until now, in their political work in the parliaments of the federal states, AfD has proven to be an extremely unconstructive political force that stands out solely through provocations and violations of taboos related to the darker side of German history.

For the discussion in the studio, AfD sent its spokesperson Joerg Meuthen, thereby already showing that it does not intend to adhere to established political rules, as it is customary for the leaders or main candidates of parliamentary parties to attend this round table.

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Political commentators speak of a historical cut, about how nothing will be the same after the entry of AfD into the parliament of the largest European state. Some commentators, like Heribert Prantl from Sueddeutsche Zeitung, do not hide their dissatisfaction with AfD’s success. However, they simultaneously point out that German democracy is stable enough to withstand an AfD in parliament.

Not only commentators are dissatisfied. About 700 protesters also expressed their outrage at the entry of right-wing populists by protesting in front of a club on the famous Alexanderplatz in central Berlin on Sunday evening, where AfD celebrated its historic entry into the Bundestag.

But besides dissatisfaction, there is also a noticeable concrete fear of the atmosphere that this party spreads around itself.

– Until now, they have incited against Muslims and refugees, and tomorrow it could turn against us, said Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, who pointed out that AfD is a party that harbors extreme right tendencies within its ranks and spreads intolerance towards minorities.

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The president of the World Jewish Congress, Ronald Lauder, went even further and described AfD as a “shameful and reactionary movement that reminds one of the worst in German history.”

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That fear is not unfounded was shown immediately after the first forecasts were published by one of AfD’s main candidates, Alexander Gauland.

– We will be on the heels of Angela Merkel or anyone who will be at the head of the government. We will finally return the country to the people, Gauland told the gathered supporters.

With AfD, a party whose prominent members, like Björn Höcke, speak of the Holocaust memorial in Berlin as a “memorial of shame” that aims to blackmail the German people, will enter the Bundestag in the future.

Alexander Gauland recently stated that Germans could be proud of what the Wehrmacht achieved, and there are many examples like this.

AfD’s victory also revealed another worrying trend that has once again divided the country into east and west nearly thirty years after the reunification of the two German states.

AfD has become the second political force in the east of the country, and in some federal states like Saxony, AfD has defeated Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats.

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And it is again shown that the east of the country fears foreigners far more than the west, even though their number in these parts of Germany is negligible. However, AfD has skillfully exploited the anti-Islamic Pegida movement and instrumentalized fear and aggression towards refugees, which were most pronounced in the east of the country in the first months after the outbreak of the refugee crisis.

Analysts are now trying to penetrate the secret of AfD’s success. There is talk of fear of refugees, of stylizing one’s role as a fighter for the “people,” but also of a successful campaign over the internet. Before the outbreak of the refugee crisis, AfD, which was founded in 2013 as a party of euro critics, was almost an insignificant party torn by internal conflicts.

But then came the refugee crisis in 2015, and AfD rose from the ashes on the wings of criticism of Angela Merkel’s refugee policy.

One thing is certain: AfD’s success is certainly not due to a quality party program. Because, as noted by the president of the German liberals, Christian Lindner, during the round table discussion, AfD is the first party to enter parliament without a concrete pension concept.

The Success of AfD Increases Pressure on Merkel

AfD is directly one of the reasons why the Social Democrats no longer want to participate in the government, but want to, as stated by SPD president Martin Schulz, focus on working in opposition and “fighting for democracy.” Because the entry of AfD into the Bundestag, as emphasized, cannot leave any democratically inclined citizen of Germany indifferent.

Although Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to ignore the significance of the fact that for the first time since World War II a party that stands to the right of her Union entered the Bundestag in her first direct confrontation with representatives of AfD after the elections, this change will certainly affect her future political work.

And this primarily due to the smaller partner in the Union CDU/CSU, the Christian Social Union, which represents the Christian democratic option in Bavaria. CSU is under great pressure, a large number of their traditional voters have turned to AfD, and elections for the local parliament in Bavaria are already next year.

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– We must defend our positions on the right spectrum, said CSU president Horst Seehofer tonight. And this means that the pressure on the chancellor, who, as noted by a commentator from Der Spiegel, is more social democratic than Christian democratic in her political habitus, will be even stronger than before from the CSU.

The Union CDU/CSU has lost the trust of 8.6 percent of voters since the last elections in 2013 and is at a historically low level of 32.9 percent. SPD has lost the trust of 4.9 percent of voters and has also achieved the weakest post-war result with 20.5 percent.

AfD with 12.9 percent is ahead of FDP (liberals) with 10.7 percent, which managed to return to the Bundestag after four years of absence. The Left Party won 9.2 percent, and the Greens 8.9 percent.