Germany's antisemitism commissioner has spoken out about the surge in support for the Alternative for Germany. The far-right party is meeting in Magdeburg to finalize its list of candidates for the 2024 EU elections.
dts Nachrichtenagentur/IMAGO
The German government's antisemitism commissioner, Felix Klein, has expressed concern about the resurgence of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as polls suggest the party currently has the backing of a fifth of voters.
The AfD is holding a conference in the eastern German city of Magdeburg this weekend to finalize the list of its candidates and manifesto for the 2024 European elections in Magdeburg.
What did antisemitism commissioner Felix Klein say?
"I'm worried that a party like that would achieve such approval," Klein told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper in remarks released on Saturday.
The latest Deutschlandtrend poll for public broadcaster ARD, published Thursday, suggested if elections were held now, 21% of German voters would back the AfD. That compares to 10.3% two years ago.
Founded in 2013, the AfD grew quickly to become the third-largest party in the Bundestag, the lower house of German parliament, in the 2017 federal elections, but by the 2021 election the far-right party had dropped to fifth place.
The German government's antisemitism commissioner, Felix Klein, has expressed concern about the resurgence of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as polls suggest the party currently has the backing of a fifth of voters.
The AfD is holding a conference in the eastern German city of Magdeburg this weekend to finalize the list of its candidates and manifesto for the 2024 European elections in Magdeburg.
What did antisemitism commissioner Felix Klein say?
"I'm worried that a party like that would achieve such approval," Klein told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper in remarks released on Saturday.
The latest Deutschlandtrend poll for public broadcaster ARD, published Thursday, suggested if elections were held now, 21% of German voters would back the AfD. That compares to 10.3% two years ago.
Founded in 2013, the AfD grew quickly to become the third-largest party in the Bundestag, the lower house of German parliament, in the 2017 federal elections, but by the 2021 election the far-right party had dropped to fifth place.
Felix Klein was appointed as Germany's antisemitism commissioner in 2018
Wolfgang Kumm/dpa/picture alliance
Since then, issues like the cost of living crisis, large-scale immigration and the costly energy transition have turned voters against the three-party coalition led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Despite voter dissatisfaction, a YouGov poll published on Friday showed the majority of Germany remains opposed to AfD, with 58% saying they are against the party taking part in any coalition government.
Klein accused the AfD of condoning antisemitism and backing forces that have sought to downplay the Holocaust — the Nazi genocide of 6 million Jews or two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population — during World War II.
He accused the party of wanting to ban the kosher slaughter of meat.
"If the AfD wants to curtail Jewish dietary laws, that is a threat to Jewish life," Klein told the newspaper.
Klein, who was appointed as the government's antisemitism commissioner in 2018, then turned to next year's election in the eastern state of Thuringia, where the AfD has the support of more than a third of voters, according to a recent poll.
He called for candidates to be scrutinized for their position on democracy before they can take party in the vote, adding that while the AfD is a legal party "there are indications that anti-democratic forces are at work."
Since then, issues like the cost of living crisis, large-scale immigration and the costly energy transition have turned voters against the three-party coalition led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Despite voter dissatisfaction, a YouGov poll published on Friday showed the majority of Germany remains opposed to AfD, with 58% saying they are against the party taking part in any coalition government.
Klein accused the AfD of condoning antisemitism and backing forces that have sought to downplay the Holocaust — the Nazi genocide of 6 million Jews or two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population — during World War II.
He accused the party of wanting to ban the kosher slaughter of meat.
"If the AfD wants to curtail Jewish dietary laws, that is a threat to Jewish life," Klein told the newspaper.
Klein, who was appointed as the government's antisemitism commissioner in 2018, then turned to next year's election in the eastern state of Thuringia, where the AfD has the support of more than a third of voters, according to a recent poll.
He called for candidates to be scrutinized for their position on democracy before they can take party in the vote, adding that while the AfD is a legal party "there are indications that anti-democratic forces are at work."
Spy agency warns of 'extremist factions' within AfD
The chief of Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), warned this week that the AfD is treading a more radical path, noting how the far-right party has been taken over by extremist factions.
BfV head Thomas Haldenwang told DPA news agency that various AfD candidates have voiced right-wing extremist conspiracy theories.
The AfD promptly brought court proceedings against Haldenwang and demanded an emergency injunction, prompting the spy agency to temporarily refrain from further criticism of the party as the case proceeds.
New EU law will help tackle antisemitism
Klein also spoke in support of the European Union's Digital Services Act, which takes effect this month. He said it would be a "decisive turning point in the fight against antisemitism."
He said the new law requires internet platforms like Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, to not only delete unlawful content but provide information about those publishing such information to the police.
"This will make investigations much easier," Klein said.
AfD readies for European Parliament elections
Last weekend, the AfD voted to join a far-right bloc in the European Parliament, which will boost EU funding for the party as well as networking opportunities with other conservative parties.
This weekend, the party's conference continues in the eastern city of Magdeburg, where some 530 delegates will select candidates for next year's European Parliament elections.
The selection process has already generated controversy in Germany as several members have made anti-EU remarks.
A draft AfD electoral program published in June called for the "orderly dissolution of the EU."
Some AfD officials have called for Germany to leave the EU, in what is called "Dexit," combining the words Deutschland and exit.
mm/sms (AFP, dpa, EPD)
The Struggle Against Fascism
Begins with the Struggle Against Bolshevism (1939)
This article by Otto Rühle appeared in the American councilist journal Living Marxism (Vol. 4, No. 8, 1939)
AfD: German voters shift toward far right
The CDU/CSU led Germany's federal governments for most of the almost 80 years since the end of World War II — in coalition with the FDP or SPD.
The low expectations for a CDU-led federal government correspond to the poor rating of CDU leader Friedrich Merz. Only three out of 10 respondents said they think he is a good party leader, and only 16% said they thought he would make a good chancellor. Perhaps even worse for Merz, only one in three CDU supporters want him to become the next head of government after the general election in 2025
The CDU needs to work on itself
The Christian Democrats are also seen to have little to offer in terms of policy: Only 33% of CDU supporters said they know exactly what the party stands for, and a similar number, 31%, said they believe that the CDU has a feel for what's currently on people's minds.
The CDU/CSU has been thrown into turmoil by the question of whether the decision to disassociate itself from the far-right AfD should apply at all political levels. This comes after Merz suggested in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF in July that cooperation with AfD representatives on a local level was sensible common practice.He walked his comments back the following day in response to an immediate backlash, including from figures within his own party.
Overall, 64% of those surveyed for the Deutschlandtrend poll said they think it is right for the CDU to rule out cooperation with the AfD in principle, while 29% are open to considering it. However, there are considerable differences when the western and eastern German states are considered separately.
While two-thirds of eligible voters in western Germany welcome the CDU's official stance of rejecting cooperation with the AfD, in eastern Germany, the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), only half of the eligible voters agree. There, the AfD is the strongest party, polling at over 30%.
Some 70% of all respondents called for more pragmatism: They say that support of individual AfD motions in the parliaments of cities, municipalities and districts should be decided on a case-by-case basis.
In eastern Germany, as many as 81% of respondents said they were in favor of more pragmatism, compared with 67% in western Germany. Nationwide, it is only Green supporters (51%) where a majority say that all AfD motions should be rejected on principle.
This article was originally written in German
Sabine Kinkartz
August 4, 2023
The AfD continues to gain ground in opinion polls amid high dissatisfaction with the government. Support for ending the taboo on cooperating with the populists is growing.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has received another boost in the polls: If federal elections were held this week, the populist party would win 21% of the vote, putting it firmly in second place behind the center-right bloc of Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), which remain the strongest force at 27%, despite taking some small losses.
That is according to the latest edition of the representative "Deutschlandtrend" survey, for which pollster infratest reached out to 1,297 eligible voters via phone or email between July 31 and August 2.
As in the previous months' surveys, Germany's center-left government again failed to win a majority. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD), the largest party in the three-way coalition, would garner 17% — down from 25.7% when it came to power in the last general election in 2021.
The Greens now have 15% support, which is what they had in that election — but a far cry from the high-flying 25% during a brief spike in popularity just over one year ago. The neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) stand at 7%, down from their strong showing of 11.5% in 2021.
The socialist Left Party was found to be slipping further. According to the latest survey, it would fail to clear the 5% threshold for representation in the federal parliament, the Bundestag.
Only one in five respondents said they were satisfied with the work of the federal government, and even within the ranks of the three parties' supporters, approval ratings are low.
Chancellor Scholz is also becoming increasingly unpopular: Only three out of 10 eligible voters (31%) say they are satisfied with his work, the lowest approval rating since he took office in December 2021.
Unfair conditions in Germany?
Voters are not only dissatisfied with the chancellor and his government, but also with the overall situation in the country. Some 58% say that burdens are not shared fairly in Germany. That feeling has to do with the distribution of wealth, but also with the fact that certain groups in the population feel that their views and interests are not being taken into account enough by the political mainstream.
Respondents to the survey believe that certain groups in society are not being heard by the political leadership, especially low-income earners, people in rural areas, pensioners and young families. As many as 62% of respondents said politicians focus too much on the interests of those who are wealthy, while 48% think that politicians focus too much on the needs of refugees.
Despite the fact that the opposition conservative parties are leading in the polls, only 19% said they believe that they would do a better job at solving the country's problems — in fact, 21% said they would do an even worse job, and 53% said they'd expect a conservative-led government's overall performance to be similar.
August 4, 2023
The AfD continues to gain ground in opinion polls amid high dissatisfaction with the government. Support for ending the taboo on cooperating with the populists is growing.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has received another boost in the polls: If federal elections were held this week, the populist party would win 21% of the vote, putting it firmly in second place behind the center-right bloc of Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), which remain the strongest force at 27%, despite taking some small losses.
That is according to the latest edition of the representative "Deutschlandtrend" survey, for which pollster infratest reached out to 1,297 eligible voters via phone or email between July 31 and August 2.
As in the previous months' surveys, Germany's center-left government again failed to win a majority. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD), the largest party in the three-way coalition, would garner 17% — down from 25.7% when it came to power in the last general election in 2021.
The Greens now have 15% support, which is what they had in that election — but a far cry from the high-flying 25% during a brief spike in popularity just over one year ago. The neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) stand at 7%, down from their strong showing of 11.5% in 2021.
The socialist Left Party was found to be slipping further. According to the latest survey, it would fail to clear the 5% threshold for representation in the federal parliament, the Bundestag.
Only one in five respondents said they were satisfied with the work of the federal government, and even within the ranks of the three parties' supporters, approval ratings are low.
Chancellor Scholz is also becoming increasingly unpopular: Only three out of 10 eligible voters (31%) say they are satisfied with his work, the lowest approval rating since he took office in December 2021.
Unfair conditions in Germany?
Voters are not only dissatisfied with the chancellor and his government, but also with the overall situation in the country. Some 58% say that burdens are not shared fairly in Germany. That feeling has to do with the distribution of wealth, but also with the fact that certain groups in the population feel that their views and interests are not being taken into account enough by the political mainstream.
Respondents to the survey believe that certain groups in society are not being heard by the political leadership, especially low-income earners, people in rural areas, pensioners and young families. As many as 62% of respondents said politicians focus too much on the interests of those who are wealthy, while 48% think that politicians focus too much on the needs of refugees.
Despite the fact that the opposition conservative parties are leading in the polls, only 19% said they believe that they would do a better job at solving the country's problems — in fact, 21% said they would do an even worse job, and 53% said they'd expect a conservative-led government's overall performance to be similar.
The CDU/CSU led Germany's federal governments for most of the almost 80 years since the end of World War II — in coalition with the FDP or SPD.
The low expectations for a CDU-led federal government correspond to the poor rating of CDU leader Friedrich Merz. Only three out of 10 respondents said they think he is a good party leader, and only 16% said they thought he would make a good chancellor. Perhaps even worse for Merz, only one in three CDU supporters want him to become the next head of government after the general election in 2025
The CDU needs to work on itself
The Christian Democrats are also seen to have little to offer in terms of policy: Only 33% of CDU supporters said they know exactly what the party stands for, and a similar number, 31%, said they believe that the CDU has a feel for what's currently on people's minds.
The CDU/CSU has been thrown into turmoil by the question of whether the decision to disassociate itself from the far-right AfD should apply at all political levels. This comes after Merz suggested in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF in July that cooperation with AfD representatives on a local level was sensible common practice.He walked his comments back the following day in response to an immediate backlash, including from figures within his own party.
Overall, 64% of those surveyed for the Deutschlandtrend poll said they think it is right for the CDU to rule out cooperation with the AfD in principle, while 29% are open to considering it. However, there are considerable differences when the western and eastern German states are considered separately.
While two-thirds of eligible voters in western Germany welcome the CDU's official stance of rejecting cooperation with the AfD, in eastern Germany, the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), only half of the eligible voters agree. There, the AfD is the strongest party, polling at over 30%.
Some 70% of all respondents called for more pragmatism: They say that support of individual AfD motions in the parliaments of cities, municipalities and districts should be decided on a case-by-case basis.
In eastern Germany, as many as 81% of respondents said they were in favor of more pragmatism, compared with 67% in western Germany. Nationwide, it is only Green supporters (51%) where a majority say that all AfD motions should be rejected on principle.
This article was originally written in German
.
TO SEE GRAPHS
No comments:
Post a Comment