In his recent article, Hans-Georg Betz writes that the German AfD is paralysed by the pandemic, and unable to provide any practical solutions, which, potentially, could lead to its demise. As a German scholar of international law, whose identity as German is questioned by this party, I do not share this optimistic view. Rather the contrary. The AfD is bound to utilise the pandemic to further spread xenophobic sentiments among the German population. While Betz’ assessment is a ‘Momentaufname’, a snapshot in time, I would rather be reminded of Toni Morrison’s dictum: “racism may wear a new dress, buy a new pair of boots, but neither it nor its succubus twin fascism is new or can make anything new. It can only reproduce the environment that supports its own health: fear, denial and an atmosphere in which its victims have lost the will to fight.” The threat coming from the AfD is still a considerable one, and can only be countered through a sustained response rooted in social justice.
Declining poll numbers is not the same as declining support
Betz has stressed the fact that the poll performance of the AfD is steadily declining. This is indeed true. However, as of now, the AfD stands (nationally) at 10 %, five per cent more than the threshold to enter the German parliament. To be more precise, since 2017, they have lost two percentage points. Betz also refers to declining support for the far-right Lega of Matteo Salvini in Italy. It is worth stressing that the Lega is still at 26.6 %, five per cent ahead of the runner up, the centre-left PD. Hence, declining support has not exactly translated into increasing oblivion in the political space.
Betz makes three further important points. Firstly, he stresses his conviction that the current political climate will detrimentally effect the AfD. He is surely misguided. The fact is that the AfD, just like other far-right movements, is actively using the foreign aspects of the pandemic to stir up fears, incite hate and instigate division. When Donald Trump touts Covid-19 as “the Chinese virus”, (just like his right-wing contemporaries) he is fully aware of the impact of their wording on their power bases. Perhaps even more dangerously, the impact of the governmental measures, politically and legally, is edging the AfD even closer to conspiracy theorists, disgruntled citizens and government sceptics. This could lead to a dangerous alliance, with a lethal weaponisation of the public debate then translated into electoral currency.
