Does the rapid rise of the populist AfD party and the inauguration of Donald Trump mark a perfect storm for Germany? Wolfgang Münchau, founder of Eurointelligence, joined UnHerd’s Freddie Sayers to reflect on the upcoming German elections.
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Germany is far from the only country facing an economic crisis. Dig into the numbers and the UK economy looks screwed. And in that situation, this government’s priority is net zero – a literal vanity project in the circumstances we are in. Talk about fiddling while Rome (or London, or Berlin) burns.
Prashant Kotak
1 day ago
I’ve now watched the entire interview and it was excellent – well done UnHerd. Munchau’s analysis is much more nuanced and sophisticated than I originally gave him credit for in the past.
Evan Heneghan
1 day ago
I have to say he impressed me here, and I’ve criticised him in the past. Watched the full thing and I think he’s very insightful in it.
Stephanie Surface
15 hours ago
Münchau is wrong about his persistent assertion, that the AfD is “extreme” right. He brings up the same old tired claims, that the AfD members are using old NAZI slogans and is probably referring to Höcke’s “Alles für Deutschland“. This slogan was actually first proclaimed by the Social Democrats in the Weimar Republic and also became motto for the SA. Most Germans had never heard of that connection.
The leader of the AfD, Alice Weidel, is very much a libertarian/free market economist (maybe he should listen to her many interviews) and her speeches in the Bundestag ( Parliament) are the only ones, apart from Sarah Wagenknecht‘s, worthwhile to listen to.
Most of the old fashioned MSM in Germany is left of centre, and the State run television and radio is 90% left wing biased. But thank God Germany is developing a whole new range of internet bloggers and very good independent media outlets (comparable to UnHerd). The younger generation, very much like in the US and other countries, don‘t get their political info from the MSM any more, but from political freelancers/bloggers and independent internet outlets. Also the “remigration” narrative is totally false and blown out of all proportion. A prominent German lawyer, Ulrich Vosgerau, recently won yet another victory in a Hamburg court against the false claims, that there was a program, discussed at the now “infamous” Potsdam meeting, to “remigrate” German citizen with migrant backgrounds. It was a totally made up story by “Correctiv”, a left wing German so-called fact checker, an organisation, which is also ironically supported by the German government/taxpayer .
Stephen Webb
1 day ago
Merkel’s role in this was huge – she had a conscious approach that every generation had to sort out its own problems – which meant in practice that she left all Germany’s problems for her successors to resolve. Brilliant in some ways, but a dreadful legacy too https://sfhwebb.substack.com/p/blair-merkel-and-the-feral-media?r=1cycu5
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SubscribeGermany is far from the only country facing an economic crisis. Dig into the numbers and the UK economy looks screwed. And in that situation, this government’s priority is net zero – a literal vanity project in the circumstances we are in. Talk about fiddling while Rome (or London, or Berlin) burns.
I’ve now watched the entire interview and it was excellent – well done UnHerd. Munchau’s analysis is much more nuanced and sophisticated than I originally gave him credit for in the past.
I have to say he impressed me here, and I’ve criticised him in the past. Watched the full thing and I think he’s very insightful in it.
Münchau is wrong about his persistent assertion, that the AfD is “extreme” right. He brings up the same old tired claims, that the AfD members are using old NAZI slogans and is probably referring to Höcke’s “Alles für Deutschland“. This slogan was actually first proclaimed by the Social Democrats in the Weimar Republic and also became motto for the SA. Most Germans had never heard of that connection.
The leader of the AfD, Alice Weidel, is very much a libertarian/free market economist (maybe he should listen to her many interviews) and her speeches in the Bundestag ( Parliament) are the only ones, apart from Sarah Wagenknecht‘s, worthwhile to listen to.
Most of the old fashioned MSM in Germany is left of centre, and the State run television and radio is 90% left wing biased. But thank God Germany is developing a whole new range of internet bloggers and very good independent media outlets (comparable to UnHerd). The younger generation, very much like in the US and other countries, don‘t get their political info from the MSM any more, but from political freelancers/bloggers and independent internet outlets.
Also the “remigration” narrative is totally false and blown out of all proportion. A prominent German lawyer, Ulrich Vosgerau, recently won yet another victory in a Hamburg court against the false claims, that there was a program, discussed at the now “infamous” Potsdam meeting, to “remigrate” German citizen with migrant backgrounds. It was a totally made up story by “Correctiv”, a left wing German so-called fact checker, an organisation, which is also ironically supported by the German government/taxpayer .
Merkel’s role in this was huge – she had a conscious approach that every generation had to sort out its own problems – which meant in practice that she left all Germany’s problems for her successors to resolve. Brilliant in some ways, but a dreadful legacy too https://sfhwebb.substack.com/p/blair-merkel-and-the-feral-media?r=1cycu5