As Germany goes to vote, far-right AfD puts leftists & moderates on notice

In Germany that once swore to never again let fascism take over, neo-Nazis of Alternative for Germany are projected to be the second-largest party in elections, putting the moderates on notice that if they don’t address the socioeconomic crisis, their time might be up soon A decade ago, Germany had a resilient economy, a fiscal discipline that was admired, and a premier seen as the leader of Europe. Just like the Soviet Union was once committed to the spread of communism or Iran is committed to the spread of Islamic Revolution, US President Donald Trump’s principal ally Elon Musk is currently running a juggernaut across West targeting leaders and governments opposed to far-right leaders — Trump and Musk have already endorsed AfD in a case of blatant election interference. Not all voters leaning towards AfD are necessarily neo-Nazis and the party’s political popularity can largely be read as a reaction to the migration, economic, and security crises that Germany is facing, says Prof. Ummu Salma Bava, the Chairperson and Jean Monnet Chair at the Centre for European Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. Bava tells Firstpost, “The CDU, SDP, Greens, and Liberals will likely prevent AfD from coming to power this time, but if they do not address the underlying issues driving the far-right’s surge, the migration and economic crises, they may not keep the party out of power in the coming years.” A snow-covered election campaign poster of the Alternative for Germany party features party co-chair and chancellor candidate Alice Weidel in Berlin, Germany, February 13, 2025. Even as AfD focuses on economy, there’s no hiding its Nazism ties Even though economic crises and a sense of misplaced priorities with the expenditure on refugees are major drivers of the surge of the far-right, there is a growing concern across Europe that AfD is normalising the Nazism of yesteryears, with many of its voters and supporters backing the movement — Musk did a Nazi salute at Trump’s inauguration and later told AfD supporters at a rally that they need to move beyond “past guilt”.