Correctiv’s report on a secret meeting of far-right individuals to discuss “remigration” was interesting in both how the piece came about (undercover reporting that was possible due to a concerted team effort and a little bit of luck) and how the piece was presented (as a play). I find the content of the report to be surprising in its level of detail, but the effort to “reclaim” the country itself is sadly a familiar playbook at this point, at least for Americans under the Trump administration. I think the piece also gives a rare glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of wealthy people’s political decision-making, where they may profess certain values in public but want to support potentially unpopular views through discrete uses of their money.
I was also interested in the InfoMigrants piece and the tensions that exist in what AfD wants. For instance, the piece notes that they want skilled workers, though they also want stricter requirements for non-EU skilled workers. I wonder, however, whether they would even have the talent necessary for some of their jobs if they are being so restrictive. The BBC noted in March that Germany faces a shortage of skilled workers. There are also several planks that closely parallel U.S. deportation policy. For instance, the piece notes that migrants who have been found to be a danger in some way will be deported — though as we’ve seen in the United States, immigration enforcement can and do deport individuals with no criminal record, and there’s often no means of redress.
The CNN piece notes that even with specific state victories, the AfD cannot necessarily implement all of its extreme measures. However, the Courthouse News Service piece illustrates how their power can still be felt, as politicians like Friedrich Merz try to compromise with the far-right in order to out-maneuver them. The issue with this approach is that it’s hard to stay moderate in trying to out-right the right while also appealing to the extremist voter base, and you risk permanently alienating a moderate voter base. I wonder now, given the AfD’s victories in recent state-elections, whether there will be more pressure placed on the Brandmauer. In some instances where the AfD has such a commanding victory, might some parties not change their minds about working with them so they can deliver on common policies?
Something that was surprising to me was how, per The Economist piece, the AfD is actually generally unpopular among young people, and the party performs the best with voters in the 40-60 age range. Given all the headlines about youth radicalization in Germany, I would have thought the vote share among young people to be much higher, though I suppose the numbers may look different in a decade or so as the teenagers being radicalized now eventually grow old enough to vote in these elections.
