Germany has finally awakened as a capital

Anna Sauerbrey writes.

Any sense of complacency about the far-right threat has collapsed

The road was icy when my partner, son, and I drove into central Berlin two days ago. However, when we met the other 100,000 people who had gathered there to demonstrate against right-wing extremism, we felt warm, literally and figuratively. The collected human bodies created a “microclimate” that made the freezing darkness of Berlin bearable for two hours. At the same time, seeing so many people coming together to defend democracy gave us a warm feeling.

We were there because on January 10, news platform Correctiv revealed a major far-right meeting at a hotel in Potsdam, near Berlin, last November. According to the report, the meeting, which was attended by various far-right groups, including executives from the populist Alternative for Germany party, discussed plans to mass deport millions of immigrants, as well as German citizens with immigrant backgrounds.

Panicked, more than two million people have since taken to the streets. The protests, some of the largest in the country in decades, have taken massive shape not only in liberal cities like Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, but also in cities in eastern Germany where the far right is particularly powerful.

The irony is that Correctiv's article didn't tell us anything we hadn't already guessed. The far right as we know it relies on racist illusions about national homogeneity, while the AfD has long been considered extremist. However, for years Germans have watched the rise of the far right with some indifference. Even when the AfD reached 20% in the polls, there was a certain complacency about the threat it posed. This is no longer the case. Germany has finally woken up.

German democracy is sick. The problem does not lie only in the rise of the AfD, which has become so strong in some federal states that it has been able to claim positions of power or even be able to disrupt the formation of a stable local government. The problem is that in many parts of the country the general feeling of discontent has turned into discontent. People reject not only the current government, but the entire political system.

Emotions have run high in Germany since the beginning of the pandemic. In fact, the Germans have had a lot to deal with: the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, inflation, and most recently the painful consequences of the war in Gaza. Despite the growing number of immigrants, we still lack skilled workers – teachers, plumbers, IT executives – while public infrastructure is collapsing. Add to this the government's ambitious green transformation agenda, which has been hampered by violent internal conflicts, and the picture becomes bleak. Everything seems to be changing – and not for the better.

In recent months, discontent has flared. I notice that everyone knows someone who abandons traditional parties and pledges to vote for the AfD or discusses immigration. The collapse of support for the three parties in the current government – the most popular of which, the Social Democratic Party, at about 15% in opinion polls – was a result of the alienation felt by citizens. This fundamental rejection is beginning to become visible.

Recently, farmers have taken to the streets in several cities. The protests, initially against subsidy cuts, turned into anti-government protests: some demonstrators even erected gallows. This step was not only symbolic. When Robert Habeck, Vice Chancellor, Minister of Finance and Head of the Green Transition, returned from holiday break, he was confronted by an angry crowd. This act of intimidation, as it turned out along the way, was orchestrated by people with links to the far right.

There is no way to know the motives of the millions of people who have joined the protests in recent weeks. Judging from what the protesters told reporters, from the wide range of groups organizing the demonstrations, and also from the signs, I think it is difficult for everyone to agree on a common share. Many participated because they have an immigrant background, have immigrant friends or family, or simply because they oppose racism. Some were demonstrating against the AfD, while others were there to accuse the political class of promoting extremism. Certainly, no new political movement was born. But there is one common denominator: a new sense of urgency.

What we have begun to realize in recent months, and what the meeting in Potsdam revealed, is not that the far right has a terrible ideology – but that it is possible to put this terrible ideology into practice. The far-right masses in Germany mean it. With funding, support and a strong chance of winning federal mandates this year, they are closer to power than they have been in Germany's nearly 75-year post-Nazi history.

In his latest book Triggerpunkte, Stephen Mao, a sociologist at Humboldt University in Berlin, rejects the idea that German society is clearly divided into two parts. He says the conflicts relate to different areas, such as climate, migration and social justice. One can be sensitive to some issues and indifferent to others. In recent months, those who oppose immigration issues or climate policy have been the most combative. But now those who care about democracy, minority rights and the letter of the law have been activated.

It is uncertain where all this will lead. Demonstrations may subside once the initial feeling of shock has passed or once people return to their daily lives. “But it was an important moment of self-awareness,” Mr. Mao told me. He added, “The center found it crowded. The demonstrations are also an important reminder for traditional parties to avoid imitating the messages of the AfD, as it is clear that the majority of Germans do not support extremist positions.”

Perhaps most important of all is the message the protesters sent to the far right itself: We are ready to defend our citizens and our democracy. So, don't relax. Soon you may find yourself out in the cold.

* Anna Sauerbrey is a journalist and columnist for the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit

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