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Neo-Nazis likely to fall short in Sunday's German elections - despite Vance and Musk's support [1]
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Date: 2025-02-22
On Sunday, Germans will vote in national elections. The four major players are:
Polling says all will easily meet the 5% voting threshold to win seats in the Bundestag. If the polling is correct, CDU (c.29%) will return to power for the first time since Angela Merkel stepped down as Chancellor in 2021. The AfD (c.21%) will finish second. The governing SPD (c.16%) third. And the Greens (c.13) fourth.
Four other parties may or may not cross the 5% threshold.
In Germany’s multiparty system, whoever wins the most votes will almost certainly have to enter a coalition with other parties to reach a majority of seats in the Bundestag (parliament) and form a government. The legislature then elects the Chancellor. So, that coalition is doubly essential.
The good news for Germany, and Western democracies in general, is that the likely next Chancellor, Merz (CDU), has ruled out a coalition with AfD. Thereby ensuring the neo-Nazis will have little direct power. This arrangement will be a blow to President Musk and VP Vance. Those two simpering fascist fanboys played footsie with the AfD. And have made clear they would love to see the ultra-nationalists in charge.
Musk, raised in South Africa, is a frustrated apartheidist pining for a bit of that old-time 1930s Teutonic autocracy. In January, before he was lying about DOGE’s efficacy, Elon addressed an AfD rally. He told the adoring hoard they were “ the best hope for Germany .” He added that:
It’s OK to be proud to be a German. This is a very important principle. It´s good to be proud of German culture, of German values. And not to lose that. Some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything.
Many people are proud of their country — you have to support somebody in the Olympics — but “dilutes everything” is the dog whistle way of saying “poisons the blood.” And “multiculturism” is a synonym for “fucking foreigners.” The man could use the original 1920 Nazi platform as an oratorical guide. Although, if he wants to pursue public speaking, he needs help. He is as electric as a dead battery.
Unlike Musk, who learned his bigotry as a boy, Vance is a Johnny-come-lately hater. I’m not saying JD’s original programming was absent casual racism and misogyny — after all, he is a longtime Republican — but he has now embraced MAGA’s jingoism with the enthusiasm of a convert.
Aside: He reminds me of John Candy’s character (Tom Tuttle from Tacoma) in the movie ‘Volunteers.’ Although, unlike Tom, he will not return to sanity.
In his first foreign trip, Vance met AfD leader Alice Weidel . He was eager to tell her that she was right on with her Germany-first whiteness. He reiterated his anti-immigrant nativism by telling European leaders:
“No voter on this continent went to the ballot box to open the floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants. But you know what they did vote for? In England, they voted for Brexit. And agree or disagree, they voted for it. And more and more all over Europe, they’re voting for political leaders who promise to put an end to out-of-control migration.”
JD is not telling the whole story. Boris Johnson lied about the cash benefits of Brexit. Then, when its effects became fully understood, the voters spanked the British Conservatives and elected the Labour Party to parliament with an overwhelming majority. Now, only 30% of Britons support Brexit. However, lying comes easily to Vance.
But back to Germany.
It is undeniable that the far-right has received increasing support from disaffected Germans. It is the nature of fascism that people forget its reality and are seduced by the romance. Only to later find out that autocracy is an abusive lover — and then return to democracy.
Ironically, I suspect that Germans on the fence about AfD have seen the chaos visited on the US by Musk, Vance, and Trump and are questioning if ultra-nationalism will live up to the packaging. Indeed, as many as 200,000 Germans have taken to the streets to demonstrate their antipathy to the AfD’s road map for Germany.
The prediction here is that AfD will finish with 21% of the vote - a significant improvement from their 10.4% in 2021 . If they get more, that may point to a rosy future. If they get less, it may indicate they have reached a high water mark, with little reason to think there is room for growth. After all, if not now, when? The centrist parties no longer have the appetite for immigration that Merkel showed. So, where would new converts come from?
In addition, the German economy has been in the doldrums, so the odds are it will tick up — which would diminish the desire of the pocket-book voter to switch horses.
In addition, the next time Germany votes, they will see the results of an AfD-style government in the US. I doubt they will be impressed.
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