Between Capital and Volk
Germany's AfD poses as a defender of the "common man," but seeks to impose an authoritarian form of neoliberalism.
The “Alternative for Germany” (Alternative für Deutschland, or AfD) has made headlines ever since its founding in 2013. After weathering a series of ideological fights, interpersonal conflicts, and defections — most of which played out in the public eye — the party achieved in only a few years what no other German party had since 1945: uniting all of the major political currents to the right of the so-called “Union” — the Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian ally, the Christian Social Union (CSU) — into one organization. The AfD also attracts support from Christian Democracy’s most conservative fringe, establishing an organic link between conservatism and the far right.
The AfD is currently represented in thirteen of Germany’s sixteen state parliaments — a seemingly unthinkable development only five years ago — and set to enter the national parliament, or Bundestag, later this year. But what kind of a party is the AfD? Why has it been able to shake up German politics, and what are the reasons behind its rise?
The Conservative Split
Since 1945, most of Germany’s conservatives have been organized in the Union, which always contained a strong national-conservative wing. This wing has come under increasing pressure due to fundamental shifts in German society in recent decades, the beginnings of which can be traced back to the 1960s: immigrants demanded to be more than just guests, women to be more than wives, and gays and lesbians to be more than sexual deviants. The ensuing social struggles led to significant changes in attitudes and values among the German population.
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