Yet another Right turn

HAT GLOBAL POLITICS has been taking a sharp right turn is well-known. But very few could have predicted that the once outcast Alternative for Germany (AfD) party would be able to so firmly establish itself in German politics.

- SHYAMAL MAJUMDAR

True, AfD is nowhere close to forming a government after the election results were announced, but that's not the point.

The big deal is that AfD actually came in second and will be the principal opposition party. It is the first far-right party in Germany's post-World War II history to have attained such broad levels of public popularity—it has doubled its support to 21% of the vote since the previous election in 2021, and has significantly increased its share of seats in the Bundestag, Germany's parliament.

That's a big leap for a party which secured its first seats in the Bundestag just eight years ago and has been treated with extreme suspicion by successive German governments for its strident anti-migrant rhetoric. Hopefully, AfD's rising popularity will now force future German governments to stop treating far-right parties with disdain.

AfD's rise means a big headache for Friedrich Merz, chairman of the conservative Christian Democratic Union, who is set to become Germany's next chancellor. No longer tied with the liberal, "open door" policies of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, Merz has vowed to bring the party back to its more conservative roots as part of efforts to counter the far right. He surely faces a tricky road ahead.

It's not a mere coincidence that high-profile figures from the Trump administration spoke out in support of the AfD in pre-election statements. In a scathing speech at the Munich Security Council, US Vice President JD Vance told Europe's leaders that there is "no room for firewalls" in a democracy, a clear nod to the AfD.