As voters prepare to head to the polls in the German states of Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg this September, minority groups are raising concerns about the potential rise of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).
The upcoming state elections could mark the AfD’s strongest electoral showing yet, with the party polling at around 30% in Thuringia.
Majid Albunni, a Syrian refugee who became a German citizen after fleeing the war in 2013, is one of those voicing his concerns.
Albunni, who looks forward to casting his vote in future elections, is urging others to speak out against the AfD’s rise. “Those who don’t like, or at least, I know they don’t like these ideas, they are silent about it, and that’s disappointing,” Albunni said. “We need to be active as pro-democracy actors, we need to really show that we are the majority, and I believe we are the majority.”
The American Jewish Committee’s Berlin office has also issued a pamphlet detailing what it describes as the AfD’s antisemitic ideology and links to extremism.
Despite assurances from other political parties that they will not form coalitions with the AfD, the committee warns there are still risks. “Maybe we’ll see after the state elections that it will be very hard for the other parties to form a coalition without the AfD,” said Remko Leemhuis, director of the American Jewish Committee’s Berlin office. “That could mean a locked political system with no functioning government.”
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The Central Council of Jews in Germany echoed these concerns, emphasising the national implications of the state elections, “The extreme right has a political network and is reaching for political power. This makes it particularly dangerous for our liberal democracy and, consequently, for Jewish life,” said Nils Lange, spokesperson for the council.
A threat to the whole of Europe
Beyond local and national politics, the AfD’s policies could have broader consequences.
The party has proposed holding a referendum on whether Germany should exit the European Union, a move that Gokay Sofuoglu, chairman of the Turkish Community in Germany, believes could threaten the entire European system. “The AfD is an antisemitic, anti-Muslim, and anti-democratic party. It’s also the party that denies fascism and the Holocaust,” Sofuoglu stated.
The debate over migration and refugees, a central issue in the AfD’s platform, has been reignited by recent events, including a fatal attack in the western German town of Solingen, allegedly carried out by a Syrian national.
The AfD quickly seized the incident to use in its campaign, but Albunni remains hopeful, “I still believe that German society is well educated, and they can differentiate between one extremist individual and a group of people,” he said.
As the elections draw nearer, the warnings from minority groups underline the significant impact these results could have on both Germany and Europe as a whole.
