Since the rise of right-wing parties in the European elections in early June, elections in places like France, where the National Assembly was recently re-elected, and in Thuringia, where runoff elections were held, are now being approached with greater strategic planning. Rival parties are joining forces to support candidates who can prevent far-right extremists from gaining power. The question arises as to whether strategic voting is also a viable approach for the upcoming state elections in Germany.

Admittedly, it's a risky bet when a conservative party calls for the election of candidates from the far left or vice versa. Will voters go along with it? And what does this mean for the visibility of the party that steps back?

You may have already heard of the 'Thuringia Project.' This initiative, led by a group of legal experts from “Verfassungsblog”, explores what happens when authoritarian-populist parties gain control of state power and develops practical proposals to strengthen democracy, particularly against parties with authoritarian-populist agendas.

In Brandenburg, due to the current electoral law, a situation could arise where the AfD secures a disproportionately large number of seats if a significant number of their candidates are directly elected.

One proposal from the “Thuringia Project” is to vote strategically to help candidates with the best chance of defeating far-right direct candidates win. Currently, a quarter of the AfD's parliamentary members in Brandenburg are classified as far-right extremists. This number could increase after the election.

As of mid-May 2024, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, BfV) has been authorized to monitor the party “Alternative for Germany (AfD)” and its youth organization “Young Alternative for Germany (JA)” as a suspected case and to inform the public accordingly. The past surveillance of the so-called “Flügel”—initially as a suspected case and later as “proven extremist activity”—and its disclosure were and remain lawful.

Such intelligence monitoring authority exists when there are sufficient factual indications that the affected organization pursues aims that are directed against the liberal democratic order.

Quite a few AfD politicians have also been confronted with their past affiliations with the Stasi. The online magazine Belltower has compiled several cases in which AfD politicians were officially or unofficially involved with the Stasi—something that seems to pose no problem for the AfD.

Book recommendation within this context

Show larger version of image

Close

Marcus Bensmann: “Niemand kann sagen, er hätte es nicht gewusst. Die ungeheuerlichen Pläne der AfD”

Based on many years of research, far-right extremism expert Marcus Bensmann outlines in this book the plans of the radicals at the party's helm and their influencers, and what Germany could face if they ever manage to do what they truly want: the expulsion of millions of people, a pivot towards Russia and China, and the abolition of universal human rights.