The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has firmly established
itself in Germany in recent weeks, thanks to a historic alliance withthe Christian Democratic Party (CDU) around a bill aimed at toughening
anti-immigration legislation. The AfD thus came second in the February
23rd legislative elections. For this young party (barely ten years old),
the rise has been meteoric. This situation is all the more worrying
given that the party is not even playing the demonization card,
multiplying references and actions clearly indicating its fascist
orientation.
The strong signal of the latest German legislative elections is this
unprecedented alliance between the CDU and the AfD since the Second
World War. Since the fall of Nazism, Germany and its institutions have
been striving to distance themselves much more strictly than in France
from parties linked to the Nazi legacy. Despite significant street
mobilization, the fascist party achieved a very strong result, and the
high turnout (82.5%) lent a certain legitimacy to the election. However,
the AfD was overwhelmingly rejected by the population. 75% of those
surveyed by Infratest Dimap believe that the AfD "has not distanced
itself enough from far-right positions." This result serves as a
reminder that the gap between public positions and voting is a reality.
The End of the Cordon Sanitaire
Usually confined to its traditional territory of the former GDR, the AfD
has extended its results to other regions, benefiting from a strong
working-class vote and a strong increase among young people, allowing it
to double its previous score (a trend also observed in France with the
National Rally). Under the pretext of defending the working classes, the
AfD advances a racist and xenophobic discourse that appeals to a certain
segment of the population. Germany's anti-Palestinian policy has
undoubtedly also contributed to the rise of Islamophobia and the AfD's
success. In short, the typical AfD voter is a man aged 35-44 living in a
rural area (and in the East)[1]. The perfect target for the
"anti-Wokist" discourse used by both the right and the far right.
Tens of millions of people voted for the radical right and the far right
in Europe's most populous and richest country. CDU leader Friedrich
Mertz, who facilitated the rapprochement with the AfD, is an
ultra-liberal who graduated from HSBC. Like Macron, he readily gives way
to very conservative figures on social issues. The ultra-racist
capitalist solution unfortunately appears to be the only alternative to
current policy.
American billionaire and politician Elon Musk, who attended an AfD rally
in late 2024, declared: "Children should not be guilty of the sins of
their parents, and even less of their great-grandparents," in defense of
the end of the duty to remember the Holocaust in Germany, advocated by
the AfD. This statement runs counter to Germany's efforts to educate its
population in the "Nie Wieder" doctrine[2]. "It is good to be proud of
German culture, of German values, and not to lose them in a kind of
multiculturalism that dilutes everything," he also declared,
demonstrating his support. This is hardly surprising given his actions
since joining the Trump administration.
A secret meeting was held in Potsdam in November 2023 between AfD
officials, in the presence of members of the CDU as well as German
millionaires and business leaders who are patrons of the far-right[3]. A
major plan was discussed to deport nearly 2 million people of foreign
origin, mainly Turkish, Kurdish, Lebanese, or Syrian (citizens who are
"unassimilated," a term reminiscent of Retailleau's, borrowed from the
far-right "French on paper"). They would be forcibly relocated to a
state in North Africa, accompanied by Germans who had allegedly come to
their aid in recent years (members of associations, journalists, etc.).
This is reminiscent of the plan to deport Jews to Madagascar, which was
briefly considered by the Nazi authorities before their extermination
was finally decided upon. A Far Right Serving Capital
A few years earlier, Christian Lüth, a senior AfD member, had called for
the "gassing" of refugees. His words were chilling: "The worse the
situation in Germany, the better it is for the AfD.[...]Of course, it
sucks, for our children too.[...]But it will probably allow us to
continue," he said, before unfolding the rest of his plan: "Then we can
shoot them all. That's no problem at all. Or gas them, or whatever you
like. I don't care!"
Like the National Rally in France, this party hires neo-Nazi,
pro-masculinity, and violent activists as parliamentarians. Many of its
elected officials have made euphemistic statements or openly supported
Nazism. Among them is MEP Maximilian Krah. Shortly before the European
elections in June 2024, he caused a scandal by stating that an SS member
was "not automatically a criminal" in an interview with the Italian
daily La Repubblica. Another example is Matthias Helferich, who presents
himself as "the sympathetic face of national socialism."
Alice Weidel, leader of the AfD party, re-elected to the Bundestag in
the 2025 German parliamentary elections.
Peter Nedergaard
Institutional politics no longer provides a barrier, neither in Germany,
where massive voter turnout failed to prevent a strong surge of
nationalists, nor in France, where a surge of hope has been dismissed
out of hand. Far-right ideas have conquered the highest levels of
government.
The only alternative: anti-fascist struggles.
More than ever, anti-fascist struggles must be led by the people, first
locally and then more broadly. In families, in local communities, in
institutions, we must return to a clear-cut approach: once again calling
a spade a spade, a Nazi a Nazi, and holding accountable those who have
chosen the far right simply "because we've never tried" or because they
haven't found other means of protest.
We must speak out loud and clear to young and old alike, who are seduced
by simplistic and populist rhetoric. Anti-fascist mobilizations in
countries with a strong class tradition are not sufficiently accompanied
by mobilizing union struggles that weave the outlines of an alternative.
Let's leave no room for the far right and the trivialization of its
ideas in public debate, and let's continue the fight by all means
against capitalism and the fascism in which it thrives.
Ed. Wanted (UCL Grenoble)
Validate
[1]https://www.france24.com/fr/europe/20250224-élections-en-allemagne-le-vote-pour-le-parti-d-extrême-droite-afd-à-la-loupe
[2]In French, "Never again." A reference to the expression "Nie wieder
Krieg!", "Never again war!", which appeared after the First World War.
[3]Based on an investigative article by the independent German media
outlet Correctiv.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Legislatives-allemandes-Le-spectre-du-nazisme-fait-son-retour
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten