[rob74]

It's the same here too... before the recent state-level elections here in Bavaria is was basically "everyone against the Green party", the right-wing government (CSU and Freie Wähler) trying to out-populist the far-right populists from the AfD while trying to not sound too much like them - with the result that the AfD gained 4.4 % points compared to the last elections, FW gained 4,2%, CSU lost 0,2% (looks like they weren't populist enough) and the Greens lost 3,2%, losing the status of largest opposition party to the AfD.

[hef19898]

And basically all because of how we shoupd be heating our homes in the future. Quite pathetic actually, but every time I am in the more rural areas of Bavaria (a state I love, I am one of those with a healthy amount of regional partiotism of the absolute not serious kind), I remember the days of my youth: Without FW and AfD, all those opinions (from anti-semitic borderline hate speech to blatant racism and sexism, the pursuitbof short term profits regardless of costs, the disregard for nature if a dime could be made...) all existed to the same extent, they were only covered, and welcome, by the CSU as it was. Lately, there is split happeneing, were those more radical elements are drifting a bit further right. The same happened to the SPD when Lafontaine split of Die Linke after his fall-out with Schröder.

The next federal elections will be "fun", I just hope us Germans, as a whole, do the same thing that happened across Europe lately: prevent the more extremenright from getting the power of government (I know the post-fasiscts won in Italy).

That being said, I do think that most of the pro-AfD votes come from people deeply affraid of the change they see happening, affraid that someone will take away things from them. Not that this is the case, but it sure seems like it sometimes (I can see it myself). Unless a true pro-democratic coalition forms (explicitly incl. media), we will be stuck in this situation for the time being.