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Time is running out as paralysis over immigration fuels Germany’s far right
AfD stands to gain as mainstream parties sidestep the issue ahead of the Feb 23 polls.
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The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and faction co-chairwoman and top candidate for the federal election Alice Weidel delivering a speech on Feb 1.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Thomas O. Falk
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Germany’s political centre is running out of time. For years, the country’s centrist parties have dodged, delayed and downplayed the immigration debate, only to watch the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) fill the void. Now, barely two weeks before the federal election on Feb 23, the AfD is holding strong as the second-most popular party after the centre-right CDU/CSU alliance.
If the political establishment continues to sidestep the issue, the AfD won’t just keep rising – it will define the future of German politics in ways the country may come to regret.
