The Missing Seat Editorial
Germany Has to Decide What Kind of Country It Wants to Be
Germany has a serious political problem, but it is bigger than the AfD.
The AfD won roughly 44 percent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt. Chancellor Friedrich Merz responded by calling the party a destructive force, criticizing its relationship with Russia and warning that its idea of “remigration” could amount to removing people because of their ancestry or skin color.
That strong response was necessary. The question is why Germany’s political leadership waited until the AfD became this powerful to speak so plainly.
What happened?
The AfD is no longer a small protest party sitting at the edge of German politics. Its state organization in Saxony-Anhalt has been classified by the state’s domestic intelligence service as confirmed right-wing extremist.
That does not mean every AfD voter is a Nazi. People vote for the party for many reasons. Some are angry about migration. Others are worried about prices, housing, pensions, energy costs, crime, taxes, jobs or bureaucracy. Many people in eastern Germany feel that national politicians talk about them without listening to them.
Those frustrations are real. But a real problem does not make every proposed solution acceptable. Anger at the government does not make an extremist party harmless.
Germany has to examine candidates by more than their appearance. A young face, a calm voice, a friendly smile and a good TikTok account do not tell us what someone will do with power. Voters need to ask what laws the person wants to change, which institutions they want to weaken, who works behind them and which groups would lose protection if their plans became law.
Germany should understand better than most countries that dangerous politics can change its packaging.
What do Germans actually want?
The public is sending two messages at once.
After the Saxony-Anhalt election, an ARD DeutschlandTrend survey found that 64 percent of Germans were worried about the result, while only 24 percent were pleased. At the same time, 76 percent said the result was a deserved warning to the federal government.
That does not sound like a country clearly choosing the AfD’s entire program. It sounds like a country saying that it has lost confidence in the government while also fearing where the alternative could lead.
Many people who do not vote for the AfD share some of the frustrations expressed by AfD voters. They may worry about migration or rising costs but reject the party’s extremism, its relationship with Russia or the people surrounding it. They may not be willing to vote AfD today.
The word “today” matters. If people continue to believe that mainstream parties do not hear them, that line can move.
Merz cannot fight the AfD with speeches alone
Merz has his own trust problem. Many Germans do not believe that he or the federal government understands their daily lives. Strong words about the AfD will not rebuild that trust by themselves.
The democratic parties need to do two things at once. They must defend Germany’s constitutional order against extremism, and they must respond competently to the problems that make people feel ignored.
Listening to public concerns is not the same as copying the AfD. A democratic government can manage migration, improve public safety, reduce unnecessary bureaucracy, address housing and protect working people without treating human beings as ethnic problems.
The worst response would be to shame every frustrated voter while leaving the frustration untouched. That gives the AfD exactly what it needs: a public problem, an unheard population and an easy enemy to blame.
Why should an ordinary person care?
Democracy rarely disappears in one dramatic moment. It can weaken slowly as people stop trusting public institutions, extremists become normal political partners and rights begin to depend on popularity.
That affects everyone, including people who believe they will never be targeted. Once leaders learn that fear can be used to remove protections from one group, the same machinery can be used against another.
Pull Up a Chair
Do not judge a party only by its newest spokesperson. Read what it proposes, examine the people around its candidates and ask which constitutional protections would become weaker under its policies.
Mainstream parties must also be pressed for more than warnings. Ask what they will actually do about housing, wages, migration management, schools, pensions and public services. “The AfD is dangerous” may be true, but it is not a complete plan for governing Germany.
Germany has to decide what kind of country it wants to be. Its leaders must give ordinary people a democratic reason to believe they still have a meaningful seat in it.
Who is missing?
Ally = Action. 🪑