Opportunism triumphs in Germany
The rise of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in elections in the states of Thuringia and Saxony on Sunday was expected, as was the poor result of the three parties in Olaf Scholz’s federal government (the Social Democrats, Greens and Free Liberals). Since its founding in 2013, the AfD has exploited events to push its “alternative” – first opposing the EU because it supported countries in the throes of the debt crisis, then it turned against immigrants, and then, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, against NATO and in favor of Putin. Sooner or later, this populist opportunism would bear fruit in some part of the former East Germany. But the fact that Sunday’s result was predictable, and that the population of the two states is a small percentage of the German whole, does not reduce its importance. It is an earthquake whose impact will be serious and unpredictable. The Scholz government’s term ends in September 2025, and it is very rare for early elections to be held (the last times they were, in 2005 and 1982, there was a change of government). But the problems which the coalition is facing mean that nothing can be ruled out. In any case, the rise of the AfD and the new formation around extreme leftist Sahra Wagenknecht will affect politics in Germany, developments in the EU and German relations with Russia and Ukraine. Both groups are against immigration, are anti-Western and support Putin.
‘A dark day for Germany is a dark day for Europe’
“A dark day for Germany is a dark day for Europe,” Valerie Hayer, president of the liberal Renew Europe group in the European Parliament, commented. At the same time, France is in a vortex of political uncertainty, following the inconclusive snap election called by President Emmanuel Macron. And so, just as the Union’s two greatest powers are shaken domestically, the EU must handle two wars on its borders, in an international environment of great political and economic instability, while extremist, centrifugal powers grow stronger in many of its member-states. As problems such as high prices and the fallout from immigration persist, so do the powers which have no interest in solving them gain in strength (the worse the problems, the greater their influence, of course).
All of this was to be expected, as part of the “growing up” of a multinational union in an unpredictable world. But that which we saw on Sunday, and which is truly astounding, is the speed with which a new political formation can gain ground when it exploits extreme populism and opportunism. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which came third in the polls on Sunday, was established just last January, shortly after its leader left the Left Party (Linke). Many will want to emulate this. In Greece, too.
