German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for the “defense of democracy” after the national conservative Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) came in second and third in two states during last week’s regional elections, Die Welt reported on Tuesday, October 10th. It seems that for Scholz, the will of the people is democratic only as long as they vote in a favorable way.
“The votes that have gone to a right-wing populist party in Germany must worry us,” the social democrat chancellor told the paper, adding that “this is about defending democracy.”
As we also reported, leftist parties—including greens, liberals, and Scholz’s SPD—have suffered significant setbacks in both states, while the center-right parties CDU and CSU managed to keep their leading positions in both governments.
AfD, however, shocked the establishment by coming in second in Hesse with 18.4% and third in Bavaria with 15.8%. The two states make up about a quarter of the total German population, which makes these results even more significant.
No wonder Scholz’s government immediately stepped up its campaign against AfD. According to the chancellor, AfD is simply incompatible with democratic values such as freedom, the rule of law, the social market economy, or the welfare state.
“And certainly not compatible with the common European perspective that we must develop,” he added, because “part of our prosperity, but also our security” is clearly based on “working together within the European Union.”
Calls to ban AfD altogether have been a recurring talking point among establishment parties for years, especially when AfD overtakes them in elections or polls. Last month, AfD’s nationwide popularity surged to a record high of 22-23%, leading to an increase in voices who wish to deal with this democratic problem in the most undemocratic way.
Interestingly, while Scholz talks about the AfD not being “compatible” with democratic values, they are the only party whose leadership has become a target of constant death threats and violent harassment. One of the party leaders, Alice Weidel, has been recently forced into hiding with her family, while another one, Tino Chrupalla, was hospitalized after an apparent poison attack by far-left activists.
Nonetheless, Scholz and the SPD keep putting the ‘far-right’ label on AfD and blame the voters for the rightward shift, acting as if it were the end of German democracy.
“They are afraid. But they fail to recognize that this is a reflection of their bad policies and the fact that the people will no longer tolerate them selling the German people down the river,” AfD MEP Christine Anderson told The European Conservative in a recent interview.
So rather than being critical of their own actions, they continue to blame it on us being “right-wing extremists.” … [But] it’s not working for the people anymore. They see through this garbage, and they see through that BS by now. I hope they continue with this bashing because it seriously helps us.
Nonetheless, while taking every opportunity to write off AfD as dangerous extremists, Scholz’s government also seems to be trying to adopt some of the party’s talking points in a desperate attempt to win back voters. In the case of migration, for instance.
Refusing to directly answer whether he thinks this strong shift to the right can be explained by Germany’s failing migration policy, Scholz simply stated that his government “had long since begun to develop a very consistent policy for dealing with migration,” which will also ensure that illegal migrants “are pushed back.” He also reiterated an earlier statement that the number of refugees coming to Germany is “too high” and needs to be addressed.
