Unfortunately this isn’t quite correct. They’re not neonazis but they are fascists, they don’t believe in liberal democracy and hold extremist (as in, objectively far right) views on women’s rights, Judaism, Islam and LBGT issues.
AfD are also anti-science proponents of climate change denial, and are quite happy to hold opposing views from one day to the next.
Other parties in many countries don’t seem to understand that if they try to solve the immigration issues more seriously - many right-wing parties would disappear as they have nothing else.
It’s not about immigration. If it was, then mainstream parties WOULD fix immigration.
It’s about national identity, “us and them”. If it wasn’t about immigrants it would be about “experts”. If it wasn’t about experts it would be about “the gays”.
This kind of thing doesn’t go away with appeasement: orgs like AfD just point their weapons at somebody else. It has always been the way with facists.
It is about immigration. The mainstream parties can't fix migration because Germany's political system makes it almost impossible to form majority governments. Coalition politics and the cordon sanitaire force the CDU to work with the left and seemingly the left's only consistent political position is opposition to migration reform.
The AfD aren't fascists and the attempts to win elections by just screaming slurs until they lose all meaning has stopped working. People have realised that calling everything "racist" or "fascist" or "Nazi" or whatever doesn't mean it actually is, and the left's entire political strategy is just labelling things it doesn't like with bad words.
And yes part of the issue with immigration is national identity. Germany is a nation-state and always has been, just like France and Poland and Italy and Spain and Portugal and Czechia and Hungary and Ireland and Greece are. There are still some non-national states in Europe like the UK (which contains multiple nations: England, Scotland and Wales, arguably part of Ireland (although some claim Northern Ireland has been separate long enough to have its own national identity) and arguably Cornwall if you listen to Cornish nationalists which you probably shouldn't).
Economic migrants, falsely claiming to be refugees, from Somalia and Syria, aren't German. Or French. Or Italian. Or Greek. They are Somalian, or Syrian. To pretend migration policy debates don't raise issues of national identity is fucking insane.
The CDU/CSU understands perfectly. That is why its immigration policy has turned around completely. It is now basically the same as AfD's, in the hopes of drawing its old voters back. But the voters aren't stupid. Because of the cordon sanitaire, the CDU/CSU can't implement its migration policy without violating the most sacred "rule" of German politics: you cannot work with the AfD. If you do, the establishment media and the left (SPD/Greens) will be very upset with you. And we can't have that! Look at all the howling there was over the CDU even considering using AfD votes to pass migration reform recently.
Unfortunately this isn’t quite correct. They’re not neonazis but they are fascists, they don’t believe in liberal democracy and hold extremist (as in, objectively far right) views on women’s rights, Judaism, Islam and LBGT issues.
AfD are also anti-science proponents of climate change denial, and are quite happy to hold opposing views from one day to the next.
By all means ask me for receipts
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Other parties in many countries don’t seem to understand that if they try to solve the immigration issues more seriously - many right-wing parties would disappear as they have nothing else.
It’s not about immigration. If it was, then mainstream parties WOULD fix immigration.
It’s about national identity, “us and them”. If it wasn’t about immigrants it would be about “experts”. If it wasn’t about experts it would be about “the gays”.
This kind of thing doesn’t go away with appeasement: orgs like AfD just point their weapons at somebody else. It has always been the way with facists.
No, it IS about illegal immigrants. Claiming everyone supporting center/right/conservative values is automatically anti-gay is just wrong and toxic.
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It is about immigration. The mainstream parties can't fix migration because Germany's political system makes it almost impossible to form majority governments. Coalition politics and the cordon sanitaire force the CDU to work with the left and seemingly the left's only consistent political position is opposition to migration reform.
The AfD aren't fascists and the attempts to win elections by just screaming slurs until they lose all meaning has stopped working. People have realised that calling everything "racist" or "fascist" or "Nazi" or whatever doesn't mean it actually is, and the left's entire political strategy is just labelling things it doesn't like with bad words.
And yes part of the issue with immigration is national identity. Germany is a nation-state and always has been, just like France and Poland and Italy and Spain and Portugal and Czechia and Hungary and Ireland and Greece are. There are still some non-national states in Europe like the UK (which contains multiple nations: England, Scotland and Wales, arguably part of Ireland (although some claim Northern Ireland has been separate long enough to have its own national identity) and arguably Cornwall if you listen to Cornish nationalists which you probably shouldn't).
Economic migrants, falsely claiming to be refugees, from Somalia and Syria, aren't German. Or French. Or Italian. Or Greek. They are Somalian, or Syrian. To pretend migration policy debates don't raise issues of national identity is fucking insane.
3 replies →
The CDU/CSU understands perfectly. That is why its immigration policy has turned around completely. It is now basically the same as AfD's, in the hopes of drawing its old voters back. But the voters aren't stupid. Because of the cordon sanitaire, the CDU/CSU can't implement its migration policy without violating the most sacred "rule" of German politics: you cannot work with the AfD. If you do, the establishment media and the left (SPD/Greens) will be very upset with you. And we can't have that! Look at all the howling there was over the CDU even considering using AfD votes to pass migration reform recently.