Displaying items by tag: AfD

Alternative for Germany (AfD), founded in 2013, is a right-wing populist and Eurosceptic political party. In 2016 it made an alliance with the Freedom Party of Austria, with both party leaders saying border control officers should use armed force if necessary to protect the border. By May 2017, the AfD had gained representation in 13 of the 16 German state parliaments. Now it has become the third largest party in the German parliament, partly because immigration was the main election issue. Postwar Germany is multicultural, tolerant and liberal: abhorring war, and defending the environment, human rights and international teamwork. BUT the influx of over one million Muslim migrants, Russia’s dramatic resurgence, and Europe’s rolling financial problems are arousing other feelings and aspirations. These emotions don’t square with the desire to be tolerant and multicultural. Many are saying that a more powerful, more assertive, more terrifying Germany is coming.