The far-right takes another hurdle

Fifty-year-old Robert Sesselmann won Sunday’s runoff vote in Sonneberg, a district with 57,000 inhabitants in the eastern state of Thuringia.

Although his is only a regional post, he campaigned big on national and even global issues: The need to swiftly end the Ukraine war, increased border protection and opposition to the energy policies of the center-left federal government in Berlin.

He beat his rival from the center-right Christian Democrats, who had the backing of all the other political parties, who are now talking of an Alarmsignal for German society and stress the need to rally together to defend democracy.

Germany’s domestic intelligence services — the Office for the Protection of the Constitution — classifies the state branch of the AfD as a “confirmed” right-wing extremist organization; so authorities can closely monitor the party.

Thuringia’s AfD leader Björn Höcke was jubilant following the victory. He spoke of a Wetterleuchten (summer lightning) emanating from Sonneberg — symbolizing the momentum that would carry his party to victory in upcoming district and state elections in the east, “where we can then really create a political earthquake.”

Next year, state parliaments will be elected in the eastern states of Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg. Nationwide, the AfD is currently polling at up to 20%, while in the eastern states it is scoring much higher.

The socialist Left Party heads a minority government in the state of Thuringia, but has otherwise long lost its role as the party attracting disgruntled voters in the East. It blamed the government in Berlin for failing to explain its unpopular decisions and also lashed out at the center-right opposition parties, CDU and CSU, as well as the neoliberal FDP for adopting right-wing populist narratives.

The AfD offers no solutions to the challenges Germany is facing, said Faeser, who belongs to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD). “On the contrary: The AfD is fueling a climate that is damaging Germany’s position,” she said, adding that this political ambiance could scare away qualified foreign workers, which “our economy urgently needs.”

Only last week, the Bundestag — Germany’s federal parliament — passed a reform to the labor immigration law, intended to make it easier for skilled workers to start working here. 

The victorious powers — the Western Allies US, UK, and France on one side and the Soviet Union on the other — occupied the country and divided it as mistrust grew and the Cold War began.

The city of Berlin was divided as well and West Berlin became an island in the middle of Soviet-controlled territory.

Tensions between the former Allies, who had turned into geopolitical rivals, came to a head in June 1948. The Soviets blocked all access and cut off the electricity supply to West Berlin in an attempt to wear down the city’s residents and force the Western Allies out.

But the US viewed West Berlin as an outpost of freedom, a bulwark against communism and the US Air Force began sending planes with groceries and coal — winning the hearts and minds of its two million inhabitants. Seventy-five years on, Germany is commemorating the blockade.