The centre-right Christian Democrats are on course to return to power after the recent German election, sweeping up 28.5% of the vote, as polling predicted, and narrowly beating the once outcast far right party Alternative for Germany (AfD).
The AfD is a far right German nationalist party that campaigned largely on immigration and Euroscepticism. As the name suggests, the AfD market themselves as a populist alternative for an increasingly economically destitute Germany. However, their economic policies offer nothing but continued austerity designed to make the very rich even richer. Despite this, they received around 10% of the electorate in 2021, and have doubled their support since – coming second to the mainstream conservative CDU party in last month’s poll.
This is a historic victory for the far-right, and illustrates the abject failures of the centre-left parties, like the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who suffered a crushing defeat in this election, falling below the 20% threshold for the first time in post-World War Two history.
This bleak result has many in Europe drawing parallels between this election and the victory of the Nazis, who also entered power under a conservative coalition government. Fascism is undeniably on the rise in all areas of the Western world, but is it really inevitable that Europe will fall to the far right populist parties like it did in the 1930s?
I think not, and although this election has outlined the clear trend of far right populism taking over European politics, there is a silver lining. With the collapse of the centre left SPD, the left party Die Linke (which traces roots back to East Germany’s Communist Party) has made historic gains, receiving almost 9% of the overall vote and more than doubling their support since last year when they were polling at 3%. They received overwhelming support from young people aged 18 to 24, beating the AfD and all other mainstream political parties in this age group. There is clearly strong political support for the left within Germany, and an appetite for radical change, which is not satisfied by mainstream neoliberal politics.
The surge of support both for the left and the far-right reveals a general dissatisfaction with the centrist policies of mainstream political parties in Germany. This election was fought in the backdrop of Germany’s stagnating economy, and the living standards of many Germans falling, due to high inflation. This election can be seen as a rejection of the austerity policies put forward by both the SPD and the CDU.
Despite the CDU’s marginal victory over the far right this election, this must not be seen as an endorsement for neoliberal conservative policies. The AfD is a rapidly growing party, and if politicians continue to cling onto neoliberal austerity policies which do not serve the interests of the people, the takeover of far-right fascism is inevitable.
It’s hard not to make parallels to our own political climate in Britain. And it’s clear that these results, along with the catastrophic failures of the Democrats in America, send a message to the Labour Party and other centre-left parties like them. If they continue not to address the material needs of our citizens, fascism will prevail. Centre-left political parties of Europe must adopt genuine left-wing economic populist policies and messaging, or we will continue to see the rise of far right political parties like AfD.
