In the current electoral cycle, Germans of a particular political persuasion can vote for the slightly left-of-center Social Democrats (SPD), the even more left-of-center Greens, the straightforward left that calls itself The Left party (Die Linke), the far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), or the decayed remains of the former East German Communist Party.
asserted
that → vote → Party
But for all those red-, pink-, green- or rainbow-colored voters under a Marmalade sky, the election in one German state a couple of weeks ago must have felt like the arrival of Götterdämmerung.
asserted
election → feel → Götterdämmerung
It was a catastrophe not only for the fractured Left, but also for the right-of-center Christian Democrats (CDU) — the nation’s most powerful political party since Germans stopped using American Lucky Strikes and Pall Mall cigarettes for currency in bombed-out Berlin in 1945.
asserted
Germans → use → 1945
On Sept. 6, in Saxony-Anhalt, the right-wing Alternative for Germany party (AfD) won the state’s election in a landslide with 44% of the vote.
asserted
party → win → vote
Since Germany’s embrace of democracy at the outset of the Cold War, no political party on the extreme right or the extreme left has ever won a national or state election.
asserted
party → win → election
The AfD has gradually made electoral gains since its formation in 2013.
asserted
AfD → make → 2013
It is almost always labeled “far-right” or even Nazi in mainstream media.
asserted
It → label → media
The AfD endorses a strict immigration policy and unequivocally declares “Islam does not belong in Germany.”
asserted
Islam → endorse → Germany
When 44% of the voters in an open society choose a party on the right, that is democracy in action, and it is the mainstream parties that are extreme in their refusal to recognize they have lost the argument with voters.
asserted
they → choose → voters
At times, the AfD seems to relish flirting with Hitler as a provocation rather than a platform.
asserted
AfD → seem → platform
For example, one of its leaders, Bjorn Hocke, has been fined for using the Nazi slogan “Everything for Germany.”
asserted
one → fin → Germany
Same goes for another favorite: “Our Country First.”
asserted
Same → go → favorite
Moreover, how Germans remember the years 1933-1945 is fraught with difficulty.
asserted
remember → remember → difficulty
Here’s a statement from the AfD calling on Germans to end their fixation on the darkest years: “German history must be appreciated in its entirety.
asserted
history → ’ → entirety
The official culture of remembrance must not focus only on the low points of our history; it must also keep the highlights in view.
asserted
it → focus → view
A people without national consciousness cannot endure in the long run.”
asserted
people → endure → run
This is a reasonable way of coming to grips with the past.
asserted
This → come → past
Conservatives in this country shouted out almost exactly the same words a few years ago.
asserted
Conservatives → shout → words
Only the date on the historical calendar changed.
asserted
date → change → calendar
Here’s the New York Times key takeaway on that year: The country’s true birth date is not July 4, 1776, but one day in August of 1619, “when a ship arrived in Virginia which carried more than 20 enslaved Africans who were sold to the colonists.
asserted
who → ’ → colonists
Dwelling on the sins of the past is always an excellent weapon in the struggle for social justice.
asserted
Dwelling → dwell → justice
Whether this mix of outrage, populism, and toxic political discourse slathered with dark humor can continue to grow and prosper remains to be seen.
asserted
continue → slather → humor
Unlike its mainstream competitors, the AfD has demonstrated its ability to inspire, to offer a glimmer of hope in what at times feels like a hopeless situation for ordinary Germans.
asserted
what → demonstrate → Germans
This party on the right also has an important German tradition working in its favor: a deep affection for order, stability, and discipline.
asserted
party → have → order
On Sunday, the AfD will get another shot at capitalizing on the growing ineffectiveness of both mainstream and marginal parties in the face of economic stagnation, cultural grievances, and a future of dead ends.
asserted
AfD → get → ends
Two more state elections in Mecklenburg — Western Pomerania and Berlin will again test the waters for the AfD. Polls indicate the upstart party is in the lead in the coastal state in north-east Germany.
asserted
party → test → Germany
PolitPros polling has Die Linke slightly ahead of the CDU and AfD — all three hovering around 20% of the vote.
asserted
three → have → vote
If the Left party does win, it will be a wound but not the end of the AfD.
asserted
it → win → AfD.
It is not unusual for Berlin to go left while the rest of the country goes right.
asserted
rest → go → country
Bob Armstrong is the author of the memoir, No Exit from Vietnam, and a contributing writer to Thursday Review, an online magazine.
asserted
Armstrong → contribute → Review
The Aporia
