As of: February 13, 2024, 2:57 p.m
By: Moritz Maier
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Are politicians instrumentalizing demonstrations against right-wing extremism to take action against the AfD and its voters?
A dispute expert sees this appearance as a great danger.
Berlin/Potsdam/Munich – Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Alliance 90/The Greens), NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) and many more: A number of politicians from federal and state governments recently took part in demonstrations right-wing extremism.
The dispute expert and professor Maria-Sibylla Lotter sees this as a great danger.
People are told that demonstrations against the Potsdam secret meeting are being used by the government to intimidate AfD voters and demonize them.
Demonstrations against AfD and right-wing extremism: politicians out of place?
The philosophy professor at the Ruhr University Bochum deals with differences of opinion and the culture of debate in her research.
Lotter says that the Potsdam secret meeting of right-wing and right-wing extremist camps was turned into a “Nazi horror story” by journalists.
According to the professor, it is “fiction” that a lecture on remigration is a repetition of history and tends to be equated with the Nazis’ murder plans.” This led to the nationwide demonstrations.
However, other experts see precisely the seemingly harmless-sounding term “remigration” as the plan of right-wing movements to make demands for deportations in Germany socially acceptable again.
Furthermore, the demos are no longer just about the Potsdam secret meeting, but fundamentally about right-wing extremist positions.
High-ranking politicians – including Olaf Scholz and Annalena Baerbock in Potsdam – are currently taking part in the demonstrations against right-wing extremism.
This is often about the AfD.
Are government members instrumentalizing the demonstrations in the fight against the opposition?
© IMAGO/Thomas Imo
Lotter condemns the content that became known from the meeting and shows understanding for the demonstrations organized by civil society.
However, she believes it is wrong that high-ranking politicians are taking part there.
The demonstrations will intimidate people in the political center who don't like the government's migration policy in the short term, "because they don't want to be seen as Nazis." In the long term, however, even more people will turn to the AfD, Lotter told our editorial team.
Controversy researcher: Politicians at demos intimidate potential AfD voters – for now
At the demonstrations, which are officially largely directed against right-wing extremism in general, Nazi comparisons are often used to argue against the AfD.
According to Lotter, this is the crux of the matter: a distinction must be made between the AfD's "extremely restrictive migration policy" and the plans to deport millions of people discussed at the secret meeting.
For people who make this distinction and see that government politicians take part in the demos, “the suspicion must inevitably arise that politicians are exploiting a rumor to intimidate potential voters of this opposition party by portraying it as a kind of Nazi party. Party demonized,” says Lotter.
The professor emphasizes that politicians are rightly outraged by the AfD and does not want to accuse them of instrumentalizing it.
However, such an appearance must be avoided, which arises when government members take part in demonstrations that are largely directed against an opposition party.
“This can only reinforce the idea among people who are already prone to conspiracy theories that today’s state is just a GDR in disguise.”
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The Bavarian Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich (CSU) also recently expressed criticism about a demonstration in Munich that he himself attended.
“The mood for a left-wing migration policy” was created there, Eisenreich tells our editorial team.
“This attempt to exploit the Democrats’ consensus in the fight against right-wing extremism for their own political goals is unacceptable and damages the important cause.” Such a division ultimately only benefits the enemies of democracy, says the Justice Minister.
The motto “Together against the right” is also too vague in terms of language.
Demonizing your political opponent leads to no longer understanding him
Professor Lotter also considers extreme camp attributions to be problematic.
Demonizing all potential AfD sympathizers during the demos with Nazi comparisons is the wrong approach.
“You can't win back your voters if you demonize them.” Because, says the professor: “The electorate is largely made up of people for whom the speed and extent of immigration is simply too much, and they aren't either only people who think nationally.” According to her, many people fear that the welfare state will be overwhelmed.
“Anyone who accuses these people of having a Nazi attitude will, above all, trigger anger and defiance, which is currently reflected in growing membership applications to the AfD.”
The debate researcher speaks out against the demonization of the political opponent, “because then you no longer understand him, nor do you understand why he is so popular, because after all he represents evil.” In this way, the causes of radicalization can neither be understood nor combated.