The rise of populist parties like Alternative für Deutschland is often attributed to public anger over immigration and COVID-19 safety measures. But this interpretation overlooks the crucial role that economic stagnation has played in fueling public discontent in Germany and across Europe.
MUNICH – Over the past year, growing support for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has raised concerns that Germany is headed toward its most profound political crisis since the end of World War II.
To be sure, the AfD, which was polling as high as 22% nationally earlier this year, has recently been shaken by scandals. In January, it was revealed that several AfD officials had met with neo-Nazis to discuss plans for mass deportations of migrants and naturalized German citizens, triggering a public outcry. In April, the party’s lead candidate for the upcoming European Parliament election, Maximilian Krah, was accused of being a “Trojan horse” after one of his staffers was charged with spying for China.
But despite these setbacks, the rise of extremist movements across Europe, particularly the shocking victory of Geert Wilders’s Party for Freedom in the Netherlands’ 2023 election, has caused many Germans to fear that the far right’s political ascent might be unstoppable.
MUNICH – Over the past year, growing support for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has raised concerns that Germany is headed toward its most profound political crisis since the end of World War II.
To be sure, the AfD, which was polling as high as 22% nationally earlier this year, has recently been shaken by scandals. In January, it was revealed that several AfD officials had met with neo-Nazis to discuss plans for mass deportations of migrants and naturalized German citizens, triggering a public outcry. In April, the party’s lead candidate for the upcoming European Parliament election, Maximilian Krah, was accused of being a “Trojan horse” after one of his staffers was charged with spying for China.
But despite these setbacks, the rise of extremist movements across Europe, particularly the shocking victory of Geert Wilders’s Party for Freedom in the Netherlands’ 2023 election, has caused many Germans to fear that the far right’s political ascent might be unstoppable.