The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party received 43.8 percent of the vote in the regional election of the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt last weekend, putting it in position to potentially lead the next state government. That would mark a historical event, as no far-right party has led a state government since World War II; it also marks a constitutional challenge to postwar Germany’s commitment to liberal democracy.
What exactly was the AfD’s policy program for the state? Is identity politics more central to its appeal than material policies? And what can progressives learn from the AfD’s success?
Those are just a few of the questions that came up in my recent conversation with FP economics columnist Adam Tooze on the podcast we co-host, Ones and Tooze. What follows is an excerpt, edited for length and clarity. For the full conversation, look for Ones and Tooze wherever you get your podcasts. And check out Adam’s Substack newsletter.
Cameron Abadi: States in Germany have a lot of power to determine policies across a number of major domains, from security to education to culture. What exactly is the AfD’s proposed policy program for the state?
Adam Tooze: It’s worth saying that the AfD has many faces, and your question points us to the most respectable face of the AfD. And you only have to go on Twitter or YouTube or your favorite social media channel to see videos of AfD and Saxony-Anhalt which show it as a party of skinhead thugs, of people blaring out openly racist rap songs, using the N-word. It’s a dirty party. The people elected to parliament include well-known far-right activists, porn producers, people with criminal records. It’s playing in the dirty end of German society.
