While Germany’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is set to form a coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the far-right Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) success has left some Irish people living in the country “deeply unsettled”.
The far-right party doubled its support to 20.8 per cent or 152 seats in parliament following last Sunday’s federal election, which saw an 84 per cent turnout, the highest since the 1990 unification election.
The Irish Times asked Irish readers living in Germany to share their views on the results, some of which are included below.
Julie Deering-Kraft, Berlin
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“As an Irish-German citizen of Berlin with two young children, I feel deeply unsettled and concerned by the most recent election results last weekend. Fifteen years ago, while researching East German archives for my PhD on the transition from fascism to socialism after the second World War, I never could have imagined that either ideology would ever gain traction again in my lifetime.
“Whilst it would be understandable to feel only complete disillusionment around the election results, I am heartened by the many people who actively challenge the far-right movement at a grassroots level daily. People like my sister-in-law, who, despite living in an East German town in which the AfD received a huge majority of almost 40 per cent of the vote, along with many other locals continues to actively advocate for democracy, climate change and equality. This gives me hope.”
Stephen Dowd, Hanover
“I think one of the main problems was that people demonstrated on the streets so often against the AfD and the far-right parties and one was hoping that it would bring about change, but somehow the atmosphere in the streets today is worse.
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“Everybody’s a bit disillusioned that it could turn so nasty in such a short period. I’ve been living here since 2003, but now you can feel it in the air that something is not right.”
Kevin Sheil, Wiesbaden
“The AfD continues to be vilified, but of all the candidates I spoke to pre-election they were the only ones with no problem speaking English to me. They seemed very warm and welcoming as a group.”
Anthony Cobbe, Munich
“I have been living and working in Munich since 1985 and have lived through many German elections. There have always been slight moves to the left or right depending on whatever crisis was prevalent.
“This time it seems different as the far-right have capitalised on people’s ‘angst’ whether it’s about immigration, support for Ukraine or the faltering economy. The present coalition came across as too busy arguing among themselves to get things done. That’s why I believe the votes for AfD were mainly frustrated protest votes because people felt nothing was being achieved.”
Orla Taylor-Gerber, Wiesbaden
“I’m Galway born and bred and now living in Wiesbaden for over 35 years. I always considered myself lucky to call two cities, Galway and Wiesbaden, home. That has changed over the last number of years and radically with the election results.”
Declan McGuinness, Brandenburg
“I live in a town on the outskirts of Berlin. It’s a beautiful place to live filled with trees and nature. However, it’s a little unusual, as although it is close to Berlin with many locals commuting for work, it is part of the state of Brandenburg, which has quite a high AfD voter base.
“The divided nature of Germany seems well reflected in my town. It would seem to me that the swing to the right in Germany is not too different from the swing to the left or independents in Ireland. Something is not working for many people and they want change.”
