The German's take their democracy very seriously. Normally, the political style here is consensual with less of the extreme, winner takes all approach that we are used to in the UK. In Germany coalitions are the norm and not the exception. And so when Angela Merkel, the most popular Chancellor in modern German history, is left reeling from a series of regional election losses on Sunday, something must be afoot.
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| AfD advertisement - the caption says 'Children welcome - yes to the family! |
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| AfD advertisement - the caption says 'Vote out the tax avoiders.' |
In my travels around eastern Germany I am often intrigued at election time by the political advertisements one sees attached to lamp posts throughout villages and towns. Democracy here in the east is still young - reunification took place only 25 years ago - and the vestigial parties of the left - Die Linke - and the extreme right wing - the Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (NPD) - vie for space with the more mature and sober offerings of the longer-established CDU and SPD. More recently on the scene, and a big winner this weekend, is the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), formally a respectable anti-EU platform which has controversially adopted a more xenophobic tone in recent months. So, something has shaken up the normally staid political scene.
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| Die Linke - the caption says 'Arsonists out!' Below is a defaced CDU advertisement. |
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| Defaced NPD advertisement - the caption says 'Stop the (people) smuggler Merkel' |
I am often struck by how homogeneous Germany society still is. Traffic safety advertisements on the autobahns rarely include black or Asian faces. White is still the un-said norm. And so the recent arrival of hundreds of thousands of genuine and economic refugees from Syria and the Balkans - with more to come - has unsettled many people. The appalling incidents over the New Year period in Köln and other German cities where women were assaulted by immigrants has deeply upset many people. Added to that, the fact that the authorities seemed to try and to cover up the attacks, raises some important questions about trust and the state's relationship with its people.
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| Defaced NPD advertisement - the caption says 'Turn off the liar-press. Our people first.' |
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| AfD advertisement - the caption says 'We are for our homeland. Strengthen the police. Protect the citizens!' |
The impeccably progressive approach to social issues that has so long characterised the German political scene and society is under strain. The mantra preached by Merkel last August, “Wir schaffen das,” (“We will manage,”), is being openly questioned. No doubt she will vigorously defend her strategy on handling the refugee crisis, but the results of this week's display of democracy, some of it clearly distasteful, will make this task more difficult.
