I'm hoping you can shed some light on the Alternative for Germany Party. Christine Anderson recently visited Canada (she's somewhat popular among a segment of the population here). How do Germans view the party? I see they have many factions from moderates to 'far right'. The left here characterizes her as a Nazi (which I don't think she is).
Every major party in Germany (and presumably in other countries) is actually a conglomerate of at least two parties. The CDU/CSU (Christian Democrats, the latter being the Bavarian branch) are split between traditionalists and amorphous pseudo-conservatives. The SPD (Social Democrats) might have a few people left who are actually concerned about workers, but most have transitioned to the woke side. The Greens traditionally distinguish between Realos (from realpolitik) and Fundis (from fundamentalism). The FDP (Liberals, in the European sense) have social liberals and free-market liberals. The Linke (the left) has an East German and a West German wing, the latter being more radical (well, they haven't lived under actual socialism). The AfD (Alternative for Germany) consists of conservatives who lost their home (in the CDU, for example), of people who are generally disillusioned by politics, and of more-or-less crazy revisionists.
The Big Four (CDU, SPD, Greens, FDP) are avoiding contact with the AfD at all costs. When they are thinking about their exclusive club they are usually using the euphemism "all democratic parties" ("alle demokratischen Parteien"). Sometimes they will generously include the Linke, but never the AfD. Whenever some minor party member, in some local parliament, votes for a (maybe reasonable) proposal by the AfD, a shit storm starts (helped by MSM, of course) until the poor party member starts wearing sackcloth and ashes.
This is quite amazing treatment for a party that currently polls at 15%. Of course, its history has been one of tumult and some radicalization. Its founder (Bernd Lucke) was kicked out, as well as its successor (Frauke Petry). However, the current (and quite long-running) chair is a lesbian (!) woman (!).
I bet that 90% of Germans have never heard of Christine Anderson. However, this is not due to her being an AfD member but to her being a member of the European Parliament - which we more or less ignore. The most well-known MEP in Germany might be Martin Sonneborn, the lone representative of the satirical party "Die Partei".
From what I have heard of Christine Anderson, she looks reasonable and courageous. She will not get far in Germany because she is in the wrong party - but on the other hand, if she was a member of any other party, she would never have had the possibility to say what she said.
You see, I am long past looking at parties. Within every party (with the exception SPD and CDU, at least at the state level, sorry) there are individuals that I applaud. The Greens have Boris Palmer (yes, he was crazy about vaccine mandates but he is not afraid to constantly work for the people and against his own party). The FDP has Wolfgang Kubicki, who was very outspoken against vaccince mandates. The Linke has Sahra Wagenknecht (and I would like to mention Gregor Gysi, maybe quite a shady figure, but an interesting person). And the AfD has people like Christine Anderson and Martin Sichert (who helped Tom Lausen make the results of his analysis on health insurance data public). My general impression is that, in many instances, the AfD is the only party actually doing the work of the opposition (even if sometimes for "political" reasons). Ignoring them will not help in the long run. My guess is still that, at some point, there will be a local coalition between AfD and probably CDU. When the initial shit storm has died off, the AfD will get rid of some party members that are too extreme, and a new era will begin. The alternative would be the status quo: an unappealing jumble of four almost indistinguishable parties, who constantly have to work together, and can never go anywhere.
Well, that is my personal opinion, which is most likely not shared by 90% of Germans...
They are explicitly not Nazis. They are playing down what the Nazis did, but not because they agree with them but because the Third Reich is standing in the way of Making Germany Great Again. Alexander Gauland, former co-chair, famously declared the Third Reich but bird droppings ("Vogelschiss") in 1000 years of German history.
I'm hoping you can shed some light on the Alternative for Germany Party. Christine Anderson recently visited Canada (she's somewhat popular among a segment of the population here). How do Germans view the party? I see they have many factions from moderates to 'far right'. The left here characterizes her as a Nazi (which I don't think she is).
Oh, boy... where do I begin?
Every major party in Germany (and presumably in other countries) is actually a conglomerate of at least two parties. The CDU/CSU (Christian Democrats, the latter being the Bavarian branch) are split between traditionalists and amorphous pseudo-conservatives. The SPD (Social Democrats) might have a few people left who are actually concerned about workers, but most have transitioned to the woke side. The Greens traditionally distinguish between Realos (from realpolitik) and Fundis (from fundamentalism). The FDP (Liberals, in the European sense) have social liberals and free-market liberals. The Linke (the left) has an East German and a West German wing, the latter being more radical (well, they haven't lived under actual socialism). The AfD (Alternative for Germany) consists of conservatives who lost their home (in the CDU, for example), of people who are generally disillusioned by politics, and of more-or-less crazy revisionists.
The Big Four (CDU, SPD, Greens, FDP) are avoiding contact with the AfD at all costs. When they are thinking about their exclusive club they are usually using the euphemism "all democratic parties" ("alle demokratischen Parteien"). Sometimes they will generously include the Linke, but never the AfD. Whenever some minor party member, in some local parliament, votes for a (maybe reasonable) proposal by the AfD, a shit storm starts (helped by MSM, of course) until the poor party member starts wearing sackcloth and ashes.
This is quite amazing treatment for a party that currently polls at 15%. Of course, its history has been one of tumult and some radicalization. Its founder (Bernd Lucke) was kicked out, as well as its successor (Frauke Petry). However, the current (and quite long-running) chair is a lesbian (!) woman (!).
I bet that 90% of Germans have never heard of Christine Anderson. However, this is not due to her being an AfD member but to her being a member of the European Parliament - which we more or less ignore. The most well-known MEP in Germany might be Martin Sonneborn, the lone representative of the satirical party "Die Partei".
From what I have heard of Christine Anderson, she looks reasonable and courageous. She will not get far in Germany because she is in the wrong party - but on the other hand, if she was a member of any other party, she would never have had the possibility to say what she said.
You see, I am long past looking at parties. Within every party (with the exception SPD and CDU, at least at the state level, sorry) there are individuals that I applaud. The Greens have Boris Palmer (yes, he was crazy about vaccine mandates but he is not afraid to constantly work for the people and against his own party). The FDP has Wolfgang Kubicki, who was very outspoken against vaccince mandates. The Linke has Sahra Wagenknecht (and I would like to mention Gregor Gysi, maybe quite a shady figure, but an interesting person). And the AfD has people like Christine Anderson and Martin Sichert (who helped Tom Lausen make the results of his analysis on health insurance data public). My general impression is that, in many instances, the AfD is the only party actually doing the work of the opposition (even if sometimes for "political" reasons). Ignoring them will not help in the long run. My guess is still that, at some point, there will be a local coalition between AfD and probably CDU. When the initial shit storm has died off, the AfD will get rid of some party members that are too extreme, and a new era will begin. The alternative would be the status quo: an unappealing jumble of four almost indistinguishable parties, who constantly have to work together, and can never go anywhere.
Well, that is my personal opinion, which is most likely not shared by 90% of Germans...
What do you mean by 'crazy revisionists'?
They are explicitly not Nazis. They are playing down what the Nazis did, but not because they agree with them but because the Third Reich is standing in the way of Making Germany Great Again. Alexander Gauland, former co-chair, famously declared the Third Reich but bird droppings ("Vogelschiss") in 1000 years of German history.
Outstanding. Thanks!
Sounds a lot like French and Italian political parties.
Haha I love the conclusion. I believe that is exactly what happened.