From a WaPo piece by Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, titled “Germany’s far-right party is about to be stronger than ever”:
BERLIN — Americans can be forgiven for thinking Germany has already successfully thwarted Alternative for Germany (AfD), the Deutsch version of the right-wing populist movements pounding on the gates of Europe. When the overtly racist AfD’s numbers sank in the polls in March, observers across the West felt relieved to know that the European Union’s backbone and strongest advocate would not fall to the far right.
Germans, however, feel little such relief. In fact, many are worried sick about the virtual certainty of a far-right party’s entrance to Parliament.
“Germans” feel little such relief… as the AfD is presumably made up of Martians.
The party will be the first to speak after Merkel gives speeches; members might head up the powerful budget committee. That’s a terrifying prospect to anyone even remotely concerned with Germany’s “war burden,” as they call it here.
Because 70 years of continuous self-flagellation by the German people is not enough. We need 70 more. In fact, the only moral course is for the “war burden” to go on indefinitely.
