Considered right-wing extremist – The AfD is particularly strong in the former GDR

Wagner also explains why support for the AfD, which is classified as right-wing extremist in Saxony and Thuringia by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, is so high in the former GDR, mainly because of its past under the socialist regime. The political scientist from the Free University of Berlin explains that the GDR had decided to be an anti-fascist state and that there was hardly any critical analysis, of “the question of what that still means for us today”. Moreover, West Germany has a different image of democracy, as the introduction of democracy after the Second World War was positively correlated with the associated economic prosperity. For citizens of the former GDR “it was completely different. The introduction of representative democracy based on the model of the Federal Republic came at a time of mass unemployment. This means that this cognitive link between prosperity and democracy could never develop in the East as it did in the West.”

“Only real democratic party”
Anna-Sophie Heinze, a political scientist at the University of Trier, points out that the majority of the population in Germany sees democracy as the best form of government, but is less satisfied with the current functioning of democracy. According to Heinze’s analysis, the AfD can play into this well, for example by describing itself as the “only real democratic party”. Isn’t a party that is monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution a deterrent in this context? Heinze does not see this, but the AfD has successfully managed to say: “Now more than ever” and “We are the only real opposition, the only real democrats.”

Heinze also describes how the lack of social processing of the reunification of Germany and the transformation experiences of the 1990s have led to thought patterns that are still entrenched today. Some East German citizens feel that their interests and needs are less heard than those of West Germans. The AfD picks this up ‘perfectly’, plays heavily with the ‘East German identity’ and presents it as positive to be different from West Germany. Heinze also explains this development by saying that “the GDR was not viewed particularly critically everywhere”.

“You feel like second-class citizens”
Wagner also explains that “the East is of course still significantly behind the West in terms of economic power, income and pensions”. Does that explain why voters vote in protest against the West? The political scientist would rather see a general discontent that leads to support for populist appeals against ‘those at the top’. Apart from the ‘feeling of being second-class citizens’ described above, many people in the eastern German states struggle with the fact that they have less wealth at their disposal. Wagner describes this as meaning that “economic shocks – be they from Corona, inflation or the economic crisis” – are more likely to have an impact in the East, “because there is simply much, much less wealth, which allows the middle class to survive dry spells for a short time.”

Political scientists point out that in the former GDR there is still little trust in politics and political parties, because there are fewer party members and less identification with the established parties than in the West German states. According to Heinze, a major role in this context is played by the fact that “the AfD, but also the FPÖ, have managed to build up a relatively stable organization – with some competent personnel and a strong youth organization.” All this helps to appear as a viable option for many voters.

The East is more right-wing than the West
In addition, the radical to extreme right has long been a strong force in East Germany. “The East is socio-politically more conservative or right-wing than the West,” says Wagner. To explain this, reference is again made to the history of the GDR. For example, there were fewer guest workers in this area. ‘Contract workers’ who lived in the GDR – for example from Vietnam or Cuba – were hardly integrated into society, but were rather housed in ‘special apartment buildings’, explains the Berlin political scientist. This also shows the phenomenon that less contact with people with a migration background not only leads to greater reservations, “but also rejection and outright racism” are more pronounced.

In any case, parties like the AfD or the FPÖ “pose a danger to liberal democracy,” Heinze emphasizes. Far-right parties “do not particularly value minority rights, the rule of law or representative institutions.” The rise of the far right would also be supported if it were “normalized.” According to Heinze, a strong result for the FPÖ in the National Council elections and perhaps participation in the government in Austria “could of course make a huge contribution” to bringing far-right parties further into the mainstream across Europe.