In Germany, a call to create a ‘compelling vision’ for democracy
Christian Science Monitor · C · trust 39/100
A convincing regional election win by a far-right party has Germany – and Europe – worried about an extremist drift. But some analysts see it as an opportunity to shift the conversation and strengthen democracy.
| Matthias Schrader/AP Supporters of Germany’s far-right AfD party and candidate Ulrich Siegmund watching results in the Saxony-Anhalt state election roll in; Magdeburg, Germany, Sept. 6. Loading...
What just happened? As the Monitor’s Mark Sappenfield reported Tuesday , that’s what Germans are asking themselves after a far-right party won nearly 44% of the vote in a state election this week.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been viewed as an extremist threat to democracy by the government in Berlin, and a tacit “firewall” among centrist parties has excluded it from local or regional governing coalitions. Yet, with its euroskeptic, anti-immigration platform, the AfD is now just three seats short of a governing majority in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and has 28% support among German voters nationally.
The follow-up question for Germany, and Europe more broadly, is: What happens next? Or perhaps, what should happen next?
The continued rise of right-wing populism across the 27-member European Union is placing new demands on traditional centrist and liberal political leaders. They are being called on to reassure a growing share of citizens who are moving to the right that their concerns can be respectfully heard and addressed within existing democratic systems and institutions.
This is a “moment where everything must be different,” according to German commentator Martin Machowecz. It’s time to move away from a “defensive alliance” against the far right and develop “recognizable political projects” and “credible answers” to voters’ everyday concerns, he wrote in the German newspaper Die Zeit this week.
These include the toll of deindustrialization and economic stagnation, and also growing concerns about the perceived or actual impacts of immigration on public services and safety as well as on cultural and national identity. These issues are vocally amplified by right-wing parties in other countries such as France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Political stigma and dismissive characterizations of such concerns don’t work, observed Grégoire Roos, an analyst at Chatham House, a London-based think tank. He has suggested viewing Saxony-Anhalt as a “useful laboratory” to understand shifting rural-urban and generational viewpoints – as well as the ability of the winning AfD candidate for governor, Ulrich Siegmund, to connect with voters. The AfD, Mr. Roos pointed out, recently ditched its somewhat passive and negative slogan – “Enough is enough” – for the more proactive “Everything is possible.”
That type of message resonates with individuals’ underlying desire for forward movement and encouragement, rather than being labeled or categorized by politicians on the left or the right. This was demonstrated in Hungary in April, when opposition leader Péter Magyar convincingly won an election against a long-ruling, right-wing authoritarian. Mr. Magyar often offered a “message of love” to all Hungarians and urged supporters to “extend a hand to our fellow countrymen.”
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Similarly, rather than “old buzzwords to describe the AfD – and its voters: firewall, right-wing extremists, bans,” according to Susanne Schwarzbach of the Deutschlandfunk radio program, what Germany needs is a “compelling vision for the future.”
“This election result is a mandate,” not for the AfD, in Ms. Schwarzbach’s view, but it’s “a mandate to work to strengthen our democracy.”
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