William Cook

How Alternative für Deutschland forced German politics to the right

‘When the world ends, I’ll go to Mecklenburg,’ quipped Bismarck, ‘because there, everything happens a hundred years later.’ Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has always been seen as somewhere behind the times, but has this sleepy backwater now become a portent of momentous things to come? In last weekend’s regional elections, Germany’s fledgling anti-immigration party, Alternative für Deutschland, came second, pushing Angela Merkel’s CDU into third place – in her own constituency. So was AfD’s Leif-Erik Holm right to say that this could be the beginning of the end for Merkel? And does this shock result mark the end of the beginning for AfD?

I have a soft spot for Mecklenburg (my father’s family used to live there) but as a fairly frequent visitor, for me this result came as no surprise. One of the five East German Lander which joined the Bundesrepublik after reunification, it’s a place that sums up the successes and failures of Eastern Germany. It’s also a place with intriguing parallels with Brexit Britain.

With its historic Hanseatic towns and wild sandy beaches, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has become a big draw for tourists, and if you go there as a tourist it’s easy to assume that everything is hunky dory. Since reunification, these coastal resorts have been beautifully restored. However if you venture further inland, where fewer tourists travel, you’ll find a different story. It’s like travelling back in time, to the early 1990s and the immediate aftermath of Communism. Here, instead of boutique hotels and funky cafes, you’ll find deserted high streets and derelict factories. You can see why this is Germany’s poorest province, with 11.5 per cent unemployment (well over twice the national average). You can also see why AfD polled over 20 per cent here.

Alternative für Deutschland speaks for the growing number of German voters who are increasingly worried about immigration, and find no outlet for their concerns in Germany’s mainstream parties.

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