(CNN)Another vote in Germany shows the growing strength of the far right, this time by defeating the nation"s major party on Chancellor Angela Merkel"s home turf.
Alternative fr Deutschland, or AFD, defeated the Christian Democratic Union in local elections in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern this weekend, coming in second behind the Social Democratic Party, according to exit polls.
"The elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern show that the citizens are no longer intimidated by the lip service of the old parties," AFD party leader Frauke Petry tweeted Sunday.
"There is enough space for refugees in Germany, but the problem is that we don"t distinguish anymore between migrants and asylum seekers," she told The Guardian.
That might be a moot point since the closure of borders in southern and eastern Europe has stemmed the tide of refugees, which has allowed the AFD to campaign on stopping the "Islamification" of Germany.
The AFD has been called the political arm of the German group Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West. The group, known as PEGIDA, organized anti-immigration rallies a couple of years ago that drew thousands of people. It has adherents in neighboring countries.
In June, its founder, Lutz Bachmann, who once posed as Adolf Hitler in a selfie, was found guilty by a German court in Dresden of inciting hate speech.
Bachmann was charged last October with posting Facebook comments describing refugees, mostly Muslims, as "cattle," "filth" and "scum."
He was sentenced to a fine of 9,600 without jail time.
The AFD, however, has been able to broaden its reach to Germans who may have been offended by the PEGIDA rallies. Petry has noted her party has positions on issues from improving state television to seeking a better balance between the state and individual.
That could represent a maturing that more Germans will find attractive, Heath said
"One of the hot-button issues is immigration, but it is more than immigration and what you are seeing is these parties getting more subtle and a bit more sophisticated about how they reach out and grow their constituencies," Heath said. "They are really developing this momentum so they can be not just one-hit wonders. ... They are getting national appeal."
No comments:
Post a Comment