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2023-06-04 Europe
Centrist parties alarmed as poll shows growing support for German far right
[AnNahar] Prominent members of German mainstream parties have expressed alarm at a new poll that shows support for the far-right Alternative for Germany at a record high.
When the mainstream parties refuse to notice the needs of the citizenry, the citizens turn to others for answers, In America that made Donald Trump president. In Europe this tends to result in bloody revolution — Alternativ für Deutschland is a good deal safer for all involved.
The DeutschlandTrend survey, conducted monthly by infratest dimap for public broadcaster ARD, that was released on Thursday puts voter support for Alternative for Germany at 18%, on a par with Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats. In the 2021 election, Scholz's party received 25.7% of the vote, while Alternative for Germany, or AfD, got 10.3%.

"This (...) is a disaster and should be understood as an alarm signal for all parties of the center," said Norbert Roettgen, a senior politician for the main opposition Christian Democrats, whose support stood at 29% in the poll of 1,302 voters conducted from May 30-31. The margin of error was up to 3 percentage points.

Roettgen said his own center-right party should ask itself why it hasn't profited as much from voters' unhappiness at the government.

His party colleague Serap Guler said the strong support for AfD should alarm all democratic parties.

"We bear responsibility for changing this again quickly," she said late Thursday.

AfD previously hit 18% in the DeutschlandTrend survey in September 2018 amid discord in then Chancellor Angela Merkel
...chancellor of Germany and the impetus behind Germany's remarkably ill-starred immigration program. Merkel used to be referred to by Germans as Mom. Now they make faces at her for inundating the country with Moslem colonists...
's coalition government.

Scholz's three-party coalition with the environmentalist Greens and the libertarian Free Democrats has faced strong headwind recently over high immigration and a plan to replace millions of home heating systems in the country. Germany's military support for Ukraine's defense against the Russian invasion is also rejected by a sizeable portion of the populace, though it has majority support.

AfD and its affiliates have come under scrutiny from the country's domestic intelligence agency, BfV, for its ties to hard boys. The head of the agency warned recently of "astonishing parallels" between the present and the 1920s and 1930s, which saw a rise in political extremism and authoritarianism that culminated in the Nazi dictatorship.

About two-thirds of those who supported AfD in the poll said they did so in protest over other parties, rather than because they were convinced by the far right's policies. Still, AfD stands a chance to win in three state elections in eastern Germany next year, which would put mainstream forces in the awkward position of having to form a broad coalition against the strongest party.

Sawsan Chebli, a member of the Social Democrats, tweeted after the polls were published: "The AfD is at 18 percent. People, wake the hell up!"
Posted by trailing wife 2023-06-04 00:00|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [19 views ]  Top

#1 Gimme a flippin' break - the Social Democrats are as 'centrist' as our own Democrats are.
Posted by Raj 2023-06-04 10:41||   2023-06-04 10:41|| Front Page Top

#2 And to compare the statist Greens of today with the Greens of Petra Kelly in the 1980's.
Posted by DooDahMan 2023-06-04 11:27||   2023-06-04 11:27|| Front Page Top

#3 Add the German government to the managements of Bud Light and Target. You ignore your customers/ constituents at your peril.
Posted by Tom 2023-06-04 12:57||   2023-06-04 12:57|| Front Page Top

#4 Europeans governments are falling to the groove of Domino Dancing.
Posted by Super Hose 2023-06-04 15:36||   2023-06-04 15:36|| Front Page Top

#5 They are not anymore the parties of the centre.
Posted by Spomonter Speaking for Boskone8031 2023-06-04 21:38||   2023-06-04 21:38|| Front Page Top

12:58 Crusader
12:55 DarthVader
12:37 SteveS
12:32 Frank G
12:08 Frank G
12:00 Xyz
11:56 Super Hose
11:54 Super Hose
11:51 Grom the Reflective
11:51 Super Hose
11:47 Super Hose
11:44 Deacon+Blues
11:40 Super Hose
11:20 M. Murcek
11:19 Grom the Reflective
11:18 Grom the Reflective
11:10 Whiskey Mike
11:02 49 Pan
10:41 Grom the Reflective
10:32 Frank G
10:32 M. Murcek
10:30 Frank G
10:27 Huputle+Cherelet4131
09:57 DarthVader
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