The success of the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in state elections last week is a huge blow not just to Chancellor Scholz’s government but also to those who believe in liberal democracy across Europe. That this has happened in Germany is even more worrying. It is the first time since the Nazi era that an extreme right wing party has won a state election. The party’s leader Björn Höcke was even fined for using a Nazi slogan.
In the eastern state of Thuringia, the AfD won over 33 percent of the vote, while coming a close second in Saxony, with over 30 percent of the vote. Scholz’s center-left SPD coalition came fifth. Polls show that if federal polls happen now, the AfD could be the second largest party, with the SDP at the third spot.
With Chancellor Scholz describing the results as “bitter”, he called on “all democratic parties ..to form stable governments without right-wing extremists”. “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,” he said in a statement. The far right will find it tough to find allies in Germany and actually govern, which is a small but significant consolation. None of the other parties want to touch them.
Anger against immigration
However, the AfD has won enough seats in Thuringia to be able to block crucial votes where the assent of two thirds of legislators is required for things like the appointment of judges and security officials. The AfD’s rallying cry is staunch opposition to immigration and it rose in the last decade as former Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed over one million refugees from countries like Syria to come to Germany.
In Germany’s former communist east, the anti immigration movement of the AfD found a fertile ground to grow, as relative lack of economic growth spurred even more anger against immigration.
The AfD’s success exposes the stark differences between the east and the rest of Germany. The former communist part of the country is less prosperous than its western half with deep anger against economic inequality and a feeling that they are second class citizens.
It was not difficult for the AfD to fill this vacuum. The party has attracted many young Germans too. The trend is in line with what we have seen in France, where Marine Le Pen’s party has seen a surge in support though it was just about stopped in its tracks.
What the growing popularity of the extreme right will do is force more centrist parties to take a harder line on issues like immigration which we are already seeing. And extremism on both sides is worrying, including the far left. A newly formed far left party, the BSW, also did well in Germany’s state elections and also has a tough anti immigration line.
We are already seeing the fallout of this with the German government taking a tougher line on immigration by bringing in tough new laws and also boosting deportations. Interestingly, both the AfD and the BSW are sympathetic to Russia and against military aid to Ukraine.
All eyes are now on the next state election in Germany in Brandenburg on September 22 which could add more embarrassment for the centre left government.
