The Importance of Being Germany
dThe far-right Allianz für Deutschland, which has had seats in the Bundestag for a while now, has won some new local elections. At 20 per cent support, it is the second-most popular party in the former East German lands, not far behind Kanzler Scholz’s Socialists (SPD), who lead an awkward GroKo with the Greens and FDP (fiscal conservatives). The main Conservatives (CDU) once swore never to co-operate with AfD but, out of office, are alternately mulling and denying such plans. Berlin’s political classes, possibly the world’s most educated, are taking notice.1
Events faintly recall Germany’s last “traffic light” coalition, which also made a U-turn on defence spending. The Chancellor then was Gerhart Schröder; environment was Angela Merkel; and foreign affairs Joschka Fischer. The “red-black-green” Groko was a first with Greens, first to cut welfare, first to send troops out of Germany (to the Balkans). “Never yet,” mused the Austrian novelist Robert Musil last…
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