The German city of Nordhausen, historically known for the former Nazi concentration camp Mittelbau-Dora, faces a potentially significant political shift as a far-right candidate, Joerg Prophet of the Alternative for Germany party (AfD), emerges as the frontrunner in the mayoral election. Prophet secured 42.1% of the vote in the first round of elections and now competes against independent candidate Kai Buchmann. This development highlights the increasing influence of the AfD in Germany and concerns about the normalization of far-right rhetoric in the region, ABC News reports on September 24.
The AfD, initially founded as a euroskeptic party in 2013, has seen substantial national growth, currently polling at around 21%, a considerable increase from its 10.3% performance in the 2021 federal election. The party's surge can be attributed to several factors. AfD politicians have capitalized on public frustration with the German government's climate and energy policies, including efforts to replace fossil-fuel heating systems with greener alternatives. Additionally, a recent influx of asylum-seekers into Germany has refocused political discourse on immigration, a longstanding core issue for the AfD.
Johannes Hillje, a Berlin-based political consultant who monitors far-right rhetoric in Germany, explains the AfD's strategy:
"The AfD mobilizes their support with two fearful narratives related to cultural and economic modernization: Both migration and climate policies are turned into a threat to people's cultural identity and lifestyle."
This approach has garnered success, with the AfD securing executive-level positions earlier in the year, including the election of an AfD candidate as county administrator in Sonneberg and winning the mayorship in Raguhn-Jessnitz.
The AfD's strength, particularly in eastern Germany, has prompted discussions among other political parties about potential collaboration, despite a traditional taboo against associating with the far right. In Thuringia, the state where Nordhausen is located, the AfD's dominance is notable, with polls often placing the party above 30%. The AfD's Thuringia leader, Bjoern Hoecke, is associated with the party's far-right faction and has expressed revisionist views of Germany's Nazi past. Germany's domestic intelligence agency has placed the AfD's Thuringia branch under formal observation.
The possibility of an AfD mayor in Nordhausen is particularly significant due to the city's historical ties to the Mittelbau-Dora camp, a site of memory linked to the Holocaust. Nordhausen has worked to preserve the camp's memory and rebuild trust among Holocaust survivors. An international committee of survivors of Mittelbau-Dora and the nearby Buchenwald concentration camp expressed concerns, stating,
"It's inconceivable that the last survivors of the concentration camps and their families... could be welcomed in Nordhausen by a mayor from the ranks of a party whose political program consists of calls for xenophobia, racism, antisemitism, antigypsyism, nationalism, and revisionism."
With several crucial state-level elections in Germany's east scheduled for 2024, including in Thuringia, pressure is mounting on other political parties to combat the AfD's rise. Winning local positions and increasing national support serve to normalize the AfD's presence in the German political landscape, leading to debates about potential collaboration with the party. Experts argue that such cooperation would strengthen and legitimize the AfD's far-right positions, making it a strategic mistake for other parties.
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