The country is slowly drifting into the hands of the extreme right, repeating the steps that brought Adolf Hitler to power
~ Nikita Ivansky ~
There is a certain feeling of despair when you talk to German antifascists or anarchists these days. The elections of 2025 were heavily influenced by the agenda pushed by the extreme right—migration, social benefits, and ‘peace’ with Russia. Only a few politicians actually tried to bring some political content to this discussion. The ruling Social Democrats (SPD) seemed to be trying to move further to the right and away from any social-democratic policies. Despite all these efforts, Olaf Scholz lost to his counterpart from the Christian Democrats (CDU), Friedrich Merz, a rich banker, Merkel’s former runner-up and soon the new Chancellor of Germany. The far right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is now the second-largest party.
A few days before the election victory, during his speech in Munich, Merz said “There is no more ‘left’ in Germany. We rule now”. And although the CDU is still unlikely to allow the AfD into government, the new government’s political direction will follow the wind of right-wing populism. And although Merz promised “independence” from Washington, the German economy is still heavily dependent on trade with the US and the government will hesitate to confront Trump.
The reactionary policies of the SPD/Green/FDP coalition have already made headlines in major progressive newspapers. It was under an SPD Chancellor that Germany closed its borders to Schengen and now controls arrivals by land. Deportations of migrants and repression of their supporters and environmental activists reached new heights. And, in cooperation with authoritarian states, the German police continued to repress anti-fascist and anti-authoritarian movements. All this was done in an attempt to conquer the information space away from the extreme right. It is almost a miracle that the coalition fell apart before passing a new security law that would have set a new low for the freedoms of citizens and non-citizens living in the country.
It is very clear that all of this is going to expand under Merz. Yet, attempts by right-wing politicians to become a new strongman within the EU have systematically failed. Macron’s power play made him a meme among political elites and a very hated personality among ordinary people in France. If Merz tries to destroy the welfare state, he can very quickly become the Macron of Germany. And just like Macron, the new chancellor can pave the way for the rise of the extreme right. The CDU’s desperate attempts to remain relevant under pressure from extreme right risk not only to bring cooperation with AfD, but also to move ruling parties further into camp of extreme right politics.
The lack of a consolidated response to the rise of fascism in Germany repeats the scenario of the past, with political parties playing directly into the hands of the extreme right. With this realisation, the liberals and moderate centre-left have no strategy for approaching the current situation. The strong belief in representative democracy threatens to destroy liberal politics while grassroots organising, crippled by the work of NGOs, seems to have too little political power to bring about change.
The hopeful attitude created by the gains of the Left Party can be poisoned very quickly, taking into account that there are a lot of reactionary forces within it, which, for example, would prevent support to Ukraine in favour of further work with Putin.
But what is certain is that the times to come will put a lot of pressure on any progressive forces in Germany. It is unclear whether the left and anarchists are ready for this challenge.
Top image: Paradox-A
