The “Alternative für Deutschland” (AfD) is leading the polls. For the first time since Nazi Germany, an extremist right-wing party is in this position. In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD might take over the state government after the elections in September.
Obviously, too many Germans are ready to support this party, which is being accused of intending to get rid of the Federal Republic’s democracy by using democratic means. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
The top 10 reasons for not voting for the AfD are the following:
10
The party hates the European Union and seems to want a “Dexit”, meaning Germany’s departure from the union along with its internal single market. According to experts, a step of this kind would ruin Germany’s economy.
9
They also hate NATO and want Germany to leave the alliance as well. By demanding a step like this one, they would jeopardize the Federal Republic’s security. At the same time, they say they are patriots. It can’t be both.
8
Whom else does the AfD hate? The LGBTQI community, even though the party’s chairlady is a lesbian. This minority would suffer under an AfD rule. Because the party follows a heteronormative policy, the queer community should not expect any support.
7
According to large unions, the AfD’s proposed policies are against the interests of workers and low-wage earners. This means the party’s constituency doesn’t even notice they are voting against themselves.
6
A huge nepotism scandal hit the AfD only a few weeks ago. Members of the Bundestag and state parliaments employed each other’s siblings, spouses and parents.
5
In five federal states (Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia), the Offices for the Protection of the Constitution have classified the AfD as an extremist right-wing endeavor. The same applies to the party on the federal level, but in this case the classification was temporarily suspended, because the AfD sued the authority and those court cases have not yet concluded.
4
Even today, the AfD spreads conspiracy theories about COVID and the fight against the virus. They basically blame the two former federal governments for their policies that were put in place to save an entire country from a dangerous pandemic.
3
Racism is the AfD’s main trademark. The extremists want to deport asylum seekers and even Germans with foreign roots.
2
Vladimir Putin, the war criminal who is fighting a war of conquest against Russia’s neighbor Ukraine, is the AfD’s hero. Even chairlady Alice Weidel blames the Ukrainians for the war. At the same time, the party hates Ukrainian refugees who fled to Germany and wants to deport them. Go figure.
1
Apart from employing staffers who were part of Nazi groups, some of its members have used Nazi language verbally or in social media and books. One of the party’s leaders, Björn Höcke, who heads the AfD’s extremist state association in Thuringia, was fined for using a slogan of Hitler’s Sturmabteilung (SA) in public at least twice. Still, Höcke is being supported by the rest of the party leadership. Generally speaking: When people support Nazis, what does this make them?
