German guy
DP Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2010
- Messages
- 5,187
- Reaction score
- 4,255
- Location
- Berlin, Germany
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Moderate
The new German party Alternative für Deutschland (AFD), which was founded in 2013 and has entered 8 out of 16 German state parliaments so far (with results between 5.5% and 24.3% of the votes), is in the process of writing a first official platform paper.
Deputy party chairwoman Beatrix von Storch said: "Islam in itself is a political ideology that is not compatible with the Grundgesetz [German constitution]". Deputy chairman Alexander Gauland added: "Islam is not a religion like Catholic or Protestant Christianity, but intellectually always connected to taking over the state. Because of this, islamization is a danger for Germany". And: "We are a Christian-laicist country, and Islam is a foreign body. In reality, there is no such thing as a Euro-Islam". He added: "Many Muslims belong to Germany, Islam does not."
They said because of that, they want to write a ban on Muslim symbols into their platform paper, such as a ban on minarets, muezzins or wearing burka.
There shall be more control of mosques and Quran schools, and they shall be closed if necessary.
Von Storch: ?Islam nicht mit Grundgesetz vereinbar?
But this course is apparently controversial even within the AFD leadership: Deputy chairman Jörg Meuthen, who is considered more moderate, voiced disagreement: "I don't see Islam as a mere political ideology, but as a religion, too." People shall be allowed to live according to their religious convictions. "Freedom of religion is part of the Grundgesetz [German constitution]." But he added: "It cannot be overlooked that there is no other religion that has such a strong political focus, or articulates such strong ambitions for the submission of people with different beliefs".
Jörg Meuthen: AfD-Chef widerspricht hartem Anti-Islam-Kurs - DIE WELT
The AFD was founded in 2013 by the libertarian, eurosceptic professor of economics, Bernd Lucke. In the 2013 general election, it narrowly failed to enter the Federal Parliament with 4.7% of the votes (5.0% are required). Last summer, Lucke lost the election for party chairmanship to Frauke Petry, who was considered a prime figure of the party's national-conservative wing. Subsequently, many libertarian-minded people left the party.
The AFD, which is now generally considered a "right-wing populist" party, has won 7.0% in the election to the European Parliament in 2014, and entered 7 German state parliaments with results between 5.5% and 15.1% of the votes -- but its biggest success was the state election in the Eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where it become party #2 with 24.3% of the votes.
Observers state that Merkel's effort of shifting her center-right CDU further to the left, so much that many conservative-minded former supporters no longer identify with that party, has opened the doors for the establishment of a party to the right of the CDU. The recent refugee situation has further provided the AFD with an important topic to capitalize on, as no other party present in the parliament opposed Merkel's policies.
This is a novelty in the German party spectrum: Ever since 1961, no party on the right-wing was ever successful, next to Merkel's CDU.
In the meantime, polling results for Merkel's CDU are pretty bad: The party is polled at between 31.5% and 33% of the votes. Between the 2013 election and summer 2015, it had been steadily polled at around 40%.
The AFD is polled at between 10.5% and 13% of the votes on national level.
Sonntagsfrage ? Wahlumfragen zur Bundestagswahl (Wahlumfrage, Umfragen)
Deputy party chairwoman Beatrix von Storch said: "Islam in itself is a political ideology that is not compatible with the Grundgesetz [German constitution]". Deputy chairman Alexander Gauland added: "Islam is not a religion like Catholic or Protestant Christianity, but intellectually always connected to taking over the state. Because of this, islamization is a danger for Germany". And: "We are a Christian-laicist country, and Islam is a foreign body. In reality, there is no such thing as a Euro-Islam". He added: "Many Muslims belong to Germany, Islam does not."
They said because of that, they want to write a ban on Muslim symbols into their platform paper, such as a ban on minarets, muezzins or wearing burka.
There shall be more control of mosques and Quran schools, and they shall be closed if necessary.
Von Storch: ?Islam nicht mit Grundgesetz vereinbar?
But this course is apparently controversial even within the AFD leadership: Deputy chairman Jörg Meuthen, who is considered more moderate, voiced disagreement: "I don't see Islam as a mere political ideology, but as a religion, too." People shall be allowed to live according to their religious convictions. "Freedom of religion is part of the Grundgesetz [German constitution]." But he added: "It cannot be overlooked that there is no other religion that has such a strong political focus, or articulates such strong ambitions for the submission of people with different beliefs".
Jörg Meuthen: AfD-Chef widerspricht hartem Anti-Islam-Kurs - DIE WELT
The AFD was founded in 2013 by the libertarian, eurosceptic professor of economics, Bernd Lucke. In the 2013 general election, it narrowly failed to enter the Federal Parliament with 4.7% of the votes (5.0% are required). Last summer, Lucke lost the election for party chairmanship to Frauke Petry, who was considered a prime figure of the party's national-conservative wing. Subsequently, many libertarian-minded people left the party.
The AFD, which is now generally considered a "right-wing populist" party, has won 7.0% in the election to the European Parliament in 2014, and entered 7 German state parliaments with results between 5.5% and 15.1% of the votes -- but its biggest success was the state election in the Eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where it become party #2 with 24.3% of the votes.
Observers state that Merkel's effort of shifting her center-right CDU further to the left, so much that many conservative-minded former supporters no longer identify with that party, has opened the doors for the establishment of a party to the right of the CDU. The recent refugee situation has further provided the AFD with an important topic to capitalize on, as no other party present in the parliament opposed Merkel's policies.
This is a novelty in the German party spectrum: Ever since 1961, no party on the right-wing was ever successful, next to Merkel's CDU.
In the meantime, polling results for Merkel's CDU are pretty bad: The party is polled at between 31.5% and 33% of the votes. Between the 2013 election and summer 2015, it had been steadily polled at around 40%.
The AFD is polled at between 10.5% and 13% of the votes on national level.
Sonntagsfrage ? Wahlumfragen zur Bundestagswahl (Wahlumfrage, Umfragen)