Gespräch mit dem Münchner Merkur über den richtigen Umgang mit der AfD
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Tag: afd
The AfD and refugees: Fire (and forget)
Everyone is excited this morning, because AfD leader Frauke Petry suggested that German police officers should shoot refugees at the border if necessary (what ever that means). With the usual qualifications and rhetorical back doors, the party is happily channeling the vigilante spirit that has grabbed parts of the German public. Disgust and free headlines…
AfD: Petry tries to get rid of Höcke, fails
Last weekend, a video of a speech that Björn Höcke had given at a New Right think tank in November was put online (gone now, but google it – there must be copies). In that speech, Höcke (originally trained as a history teacher), using a lot of jargon from biology, talked about African and European…
Guest blogging at the IASGP: The state of the AfD
This week, I’m moonlighting at the International Association for the Study of German Politics (that is quite a mouthful). Click on the link below for the full text. “However, it is still difficult to assess what kind of party the AfD wants to be, and what they stand for. From its beginnings, the AfD has…
West European Politics Virtual Special Issue on Populist Parties
West European Politics has released a virtual special issue on (European) populist parties. The collection brings together a host of articles that were published in the journal over the last 20 years or so, including some evergreens by Paul Taggart, Cas Mudde, David Art, Sarah de Lange, and other chums. Disclaimer: My own article on…
AfD party conference votes down exec’s proposal on asylum, adopts more radical resolution
Following the meeting in July that led to a split of the party, the AfD is holding another party conference this weekend. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports that the assembly has just voted down a position paper on asylum drafted by the national exec and backed by the new leader. Internally, the paper was seen as…
German AfD politician: Immigrants could be shot at border if necessary
Markus Pretzell, UKIP Fan, AfD supremo in NRW and newly minted sweetheart of the newly minted party leader, has a bright idea. In a public speech last week, he suggested to deter refugees at the German border by all means necessary, including the use of firearms. He has now repeated that statement in an interview…
Germany’s AfD: another disturbance in the force?
This week’s Pegida-style AfD march in Erfurt was a bit underwhelming, but Björn Höcke had a much bigger stage when he appeared in a popular talk show. It was probably the first time that a national audience was exposed to the more radical streams within the AfD. It was also the first time that Frauke…
On Pegida anniversary, German government issues health warning
A year after the “Pegida” marches in Dresden began, German politicians have come full circle. After first ignoring the (then tiny and distinctly local) group, they either branded them as neo-Nazis (Greens, most of the Left, most of the SPD), tried to engage in listening exercises (some of the CDU and SPD), tried to co-opt…
The Great German Right-Wing Carnival
In Dresden, the style of political conflict has plunged to a new low yesterday night when Pegida marchers carried gallows “reserved for Merkel and [vice chancellor and SPD leader] Gabriel” – a classic extreme right prop that nicely complements the usual rallying cries of “lying press” and “traitors of the people”. At first I was…