Handelsblatt42 minutes agoPolitics1 min readGermany

The firewall to the AfD: A failed instrument?

Quick Look

The debate about the Union's firewall against the AfD is based on a misunderstanding: its purpose was not to exclude, but rather to create a biotope in which the AfD could flourish.
In Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin, the party is facing strong election results by presenting itself as the true opposition to the “old party cartel”.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

The Union has made an incompatibility decision against the AfD, but it has lost its sanctioning power. This has created a political niche that the AfD is using to position itself as the opposition.

Font size

The heated debate about the Union's firewall against the AfD is due to a misunderstanding. Its main purpose, the band wall opponents like to suggest, is to exclude the AfD and its voters. The CDU's so-called incompatibility decision has long since lost its sanctioning power. The firewall created a biotope in which the AfD could flourish. A political niche from which the party could perfect its role as victim.

In Saxony-Anhalt she is on the verge of a historic election victory, perhaps even an absolute majority. It is also ahead in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Even in Berlin she can count on almost 20 percent of the vote. The recipe for success is the same everywhere. The AfD presents itself as the true opposition to the “old party cartel”.

Isn't it high time to tear down the firewall? To release the AfD from exile and give it political responsibility? Even declared opponents of the party are now dealing with this question.

Open Questions

What could a new way of dealing with the AfD look like that does not mean exclusion or legitimization?
What specific consequences would the tearing down of the firewall have for the German party landscape?