AfD’s success in Germany leaves some worried

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) had made significant gains in the elections to the two provinces, Thuringia and Saxony. The far right was expected to emerge strong in these elections, and it has fulfilled the prediction.

This development is making the mainstream German parties, the Christian Social Democrats (CSD), the Social Democrats (SD) and the Freedom Party (FP), nervous. The liberal FP has suffered the most damage, unable to get the 5 per cent vote needed to be counted as a national party. In its place, the leftists BSW, which is a reconstitution of the former communist party in the former East Germany, has made gains.

The Social Democrats of Chancellor Olaf Scholz have also taken a beating in these elections. It is the conservative Christian Democrats who are likely to form an alliance with the far left, BSW, to form the government, The AfD and the BSW together have won nearly 40 per cent of the votes in these provincial elections.

Interestingly, Saxony and Thuringia fall in the former communist party-ruled East Germany. It is a reflection of the fact that more than a quarter century after the collapse of communism, East Germany in many ways remains an unassimilated part of united Germany. In Thuringia, the AfD has won between 30.5 to 33.5 per cent of the vote. This does not however enable the party to form the government. The other parties in coalition will prevent AfD from getting into power.

The success of AfD should not come as a surprise because this has been the trend in many of the Western European countries like France and the Netherlands as well, where anti-immigrant, ultra-nationalist parties have exploited the economic distress in Europe and blamed it all on the immigrants. France has recently faced the danger of the far-right Nationalist Party of Marine Le Pen winning a majority in the National Assembly elections. But the other parties, the centrists and the leftists along with the socialists of all hues, joined hands to keep Le Pen from forming the government.

It is clear that something similar will happen in Saxony and Thuringia as well. The concern over the rise and success of a far right party like AfD in Germany is of greater concern to the Germans. It is due to the self-destructive rule of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialists (Nazis) in the 1930s that Germany lost its standing as a member of the global community. It is feared that with the emergence of AfD as a serious political player shaping German policy will cost Germany its reputation. Chancellor Scholz said as much: “The results for the AfD in Saxony and Thuringia are worrying. Our country cannot and must not get used to this. The AfD is damaging Germany. It is weakening the economy, dividing society and ruining our country’s reputation.” The nightmare of Nazi Germany still haunts the country, nearly 80 years after the Second World War has ended in a disastrous defeat for the country.

It is a matter of coincidence that the far-right AfD and the far-left Bundnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) share a common view on the war in Ukraine. They are opposed to the war and Germany’s involvement in it. The mainstream German parties, in conformity with the European Union (EU) stance, are firmly opposed to Russia and support Ukraine. The BSW leader, Sahra Wagenknecht said, “Half the people in Germany are scared of being drawn into a big war. Two-thirds of easterners oppose US missiles (being placed in Germany).” This is a view that is shared in Kremlin as well. Germany’s mainstream political parties have to make hard choices about the future.