If elections were held in Germany today, the AfD, the alternative for Germany, would get 19 percent of the vote. It would be the second strongest party in Germany. This is the result of a current survey by ARD. Professor Schröder explains why that could be.
SRF News: What is happening in Germany?
Wolfgang Schröder: These survey values express a high level of insecurity and dissatisfaction. This development also correlates with a high degree of pessimism regarding future developments – in the face of war, inflation, transformations, and energy shortages. However, this dissatisfaction does not lead to an overwhelming vote for the opposition CDU, but also for the AfD, so that we can observe a shift to the right in the Federal Republic from a political point of view.
The potential for a right-wing populist party in Germany is between 15 and 25 percent, depending on how the economy is.
19 percent of the votes, that is the strongest poll result of the AfD so far. One can no longer speak of a phenomenon that occurs primarily in eastern Germany. What’s your interpretation?
Among those who support AfD, one has to differentiate between the so-called core voters, who see the AfD as the only right party because it is simply against the government and against what the political system has to offer. On the other hand, there is also a significant portion of people who are dissatisfied with the situation they see and also dissatisfied with the way the government is governing. The potential for a right-wing populist party in Germany is between 15 and 25 percent, depending on how the economy is.
Legend:
“The AfD is an aircraft carrier for the dissatisfaction in this republic,” says Professor Wolfgang Schröder
Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach
It’s not just the mistakes of the traffic light coalition?
No. The AfD is an aircraft carrier for the dissatisfaction in this republic, for “being against”. More and more people have no problem voting for this organization, even though it is classified as a right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. This normalization to the right is not easy for the political system.
There has never been a government in Germany that had to deal with so many challenges at the same time. And this is a government that is composed disparately – from Green to FDP.
We have to assume that the challenges posed by the transformation, also due to climate change, will place clear demands on political actors. And these requirements cannot simply be answered with the opposite position. But the result of the AfD must give everyone food for thought who is concerned about the future. We are also dealing with social contradictions and also with economic dissatisfaction. And you have to keep that a bit apart.
In this situation, what is the best way to take those who are worried and dissatisfied with you?
You won’t be able to do that. In any case, you have to have good participation procedures and govern well, educate well. In this respect, the government can of course make a contribution. But you have to consider that there has never been a government in Germany that had to deal with so many challenges at the same time. And this is a government that is composed disparately – from Green to FDP. This is a new location.
You also have to take the resilience of the system as a starting point. That means you have to keep calm for a bit in order to bring things into line, which in the end is a good starting point for overcoming the major challenges.
The interview was conducted by Ivana Pribakovich.
Date. 23.06. 2023, 12:30 p.m.; srf/lin; slim