Friends, the German establishment is girding its loins in the wake of the AfD's blowout win in provincial elections. The "far right" party didn't achieve a majority, but it came amazingly close in a country with at least half a dozen viable parties. There's a good possibility, however, that all the other parties will come together to form a coalition that excludes the AfD, because...fascism!!! That might work in the short term, but can the powers-that-be in Europe ignore the people forever? We shall see.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpd0113082eo
Dr. Waddy:I know nothing about today's German politics. Are the parties which oppose the AfD left or far left? Of course we in the US have experienced such overuse and misuse by our far left of the term fascist to reflexively condemn any person, organization, entity or doctrine which expresses or enacts any doubt of their unimpeachable wisdom and justice.The vast majority of "American" far leftists would be comically unable to define the term fascist and their use of it can usually be easily dismissed.
ReplyDeleteYet . . . in Germany, the place which in living memory manifested with unspeakable savagery the worst horrors contemplated by that doctrine: What does it mean in Germany; they know it best. That their left might cynically employ the term as does ours; is it possible? My understanding is that the AfD is a populist party; could a reasonable person see in their motivations comparison with those which gave rise to the Nazis and are their grievances and outrages as intense?Is there any element of Jew hatred in them? I'm guessing they are reacting in part against the imposition of the wokeism which infests Western civilization; the Nazis were very antiMarxist ( but so of course are all who realize marxism's essential evil).
What do Germany's neighbors think of this development ? Any positioning, be it ever so tenuous , of the name Germany and the term fascism in a modern setting probably inspires pangs of dread in many. What does Russia think of it? I would guess they already have long had serious concerns about a Nato geographically anchored by Germany .Might that factor cause them to persist in eliminating any possibility of Ukraine joining Nato and becoming an obligated ally of Germany(?).
I wasn't able to read the BBC article; I think I'll get out my copy of Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism, I'll look forward to more commentary from you or any other knowledgeable person and I'll do some other reading about modern German politics.