Political earthquake in Germany: what does the victory of the far-right signal?
On September 6, the results of the local elections held in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt shocked Germany and Europe. For the first time since 1945, when World War II ended, a far-right, nationalist, and xenophobic party has become the main force forming the local government in one of the German states.
Political upheaval in Germany: what does the victory of extreme nationalists signal?
Germany is the largest and most important country in the European Union in terms of population, economic share, gross domestic product, and political influence. It is Germany and France that play a major role in determining the direction in which the European Union develops.
Now, the rise of extreme nationalists to local government once again in Germany—which was once the cause of the First and Second World Wars and considered the center of nationalism and Nazism—is causing a major shock and raising many questions.
Why did the Saxony-Anhalt region vote for extreme nationalists? Three directions of protest can be seen here.
The first is social protest. The Saxony-Anhalt region is located in eastern Germany, in the territory of the former GDR. It is economically less developed compared to the Western German regions, has fewer factories, and relatively higher unemployment. Nevertheless, it is clear that even Germany's least developed region is much more developed than other countries in the European Union. That is, while the population of this region voted for the "Alternative for Germany" party, they were observed comparing their socio-economic situation with the most developed regions in Germany.
The second is cultural protest. Residents of the Saxony-Anhalt region stated in surveys that they voted against migrants and emigrants. For example, there were those who said, "I voted for the 'Alternative for Germany' party because I started to be afraid of going out on the streets at night, and now I believe this party will establish security on the streets of Saxony." In fact, among the German regions, Saxony-Anhalt is considered the region with the lowest number of migrants—not even reaching 8 percent of the total population. Despite this, the population of this region voted for the ultra-right party due to xenophobia and cultural protest.
The third is geopolitical protest. One of the biggest foreign policy ideas of the "Alternative for Germany" party is to reconcile with Russia and re-establish the purchase of cheap gas and oil from Russia.