AFD sends shock-waves through German establishment

In just over two months’ time, Germany will be commemorating the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. However, some are of the opinion that East and West Germany are still extremely divided. A key symptom of this division can be seen in the success of the centre-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in two recent state elections. The financial times this week has described the AfD as the ‘wolf at the door’ In the Brandenburg state election, the AfD won 23.5 per cent of the vote and in Saxony, it won 27.5 per cent of the vote. Spiked online state that “The German establishment’s complacency and elitism are assisting the AfD”.

As a result of the AfD narrowly coming second in the Brandenburg by-election the Brandenburg minister, president Dietmar Woidke stated that “the face of Brandenburg would remain friendly”. It is difficult to suggest that the word “friendly” is not a code for mainstream or pro-establishment. Some pollsters in Germany have suggested that some voters who would usually vote for the Green Party for example tactically voted for the current ruling party. 

A report released by the Halle Institute for Economic Research Productivity states that productivity is still much lower in East Germany than in the west. In addition to this over ninety per cent of the biggest 500 German companies have their headquarters in the west. Despite Saxony still being dependant on $1bn a year in federal government subsidies, the establishment parties haven’t had a stable electoral base in Saxony. Previous election victories have been more as a result of the popularity of leaders as opposed to ideological matches. 

The established parties founded in the West are leaking votes to the AfD. One key reason for this is that they don’t take them seriously. Many will not share platforms with AfD representatives and repeatedly attempted to brand the AfD as far-right. Many AfD supporters feel that the establishment prefer to vilify the party morally, rather challenge it on its political ideology. Does this sound familiar?

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Oliver Down

Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!

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