German voters slide inexorably to common sense …

twaddle

Oreo

Modern Germany is nothing like the Germany of almost a hundred years ago.

I disagree. It is populated by human beings, who tend to behave in similar ways in parallel circumstances. It isn't about Germany being like it was 100 years ago, but many countries in Europe going down the same path as Germany did. As it happens, Germany 100 years ago was probably the most cultured country in the world. It was thriving (superficially) during the 1920s and I doubt if anybody could have foreseen what would happen. If anything, it was more likely to have happened in France, which was more anti-semitic than Germany.

We ignore what happened then - and how it happened - at our peril.

It wasn’t thriving in the 20’s and 30’s actually, as Germany was having to recover from the defeat of the war and it suffered during the depression as many countries did.
Which is why the rise of Hitler and cohorts happened.
Germany was very shamed after the last war and didn’t, to their credit try and sweep the evils that Hitler perpetrated under the carpet.
Modern Germany is a very different country but like all countries including the UK could be pushed to become very right wing if they feel their towns are being filled with migrants and their way of life compromised.

Sorry, I won’t be joining in with this post either. Too horrifying.

Doodledog

So what is unsustainable welfare’s in that context, and how would we in the UK follow suit, if that’s what people on this thread are hoping for?

I haven't a clue, but apparently it's "common sense". Maybe the OP could explain.

Oreo

Modern Germany is nothing like the Germany of almost a hundred years ago.

I disagree. It is populated by human beings, who tend to behave in similar ways in parallel circumstances. It isn't about Germany being like it was 100 years ago, but many countries in Europe going down the same path as Germany did. As it happens, Germany 100 years ago was probably the most cultured country in the world. It was thriving (superficially) during the 1920s and I doubt if anybody could have foreseen what would happen. If anything, it was more likely to have happened in France, which was more anti-semitic than Germany.

We ignore what happened then - and how it happened - at our peril.

Oreo

Modern Germany is nothing like the Germany of almost a hundred years ago.

In which ways please?

Thanks to Merkel they have taken a huge amount of economic migrants and asylum seekers.Often to the detriment of the local areas and people.

And where was the lovely Tommy Robinson travelling from when he had his 2 phones taken from him? Russia!

So what is unsustainable welfare’s in that context, and how would we in the UK follow suit, if that’s what people on this thread are hoping for?

Modern Germany is nothing like the Germany of almost a hundred years ago.

The AFD also have strong well documented links to Putin as does Victor Orban of Hungary's Fidesk party as indeed does Farage. Enough said.

nanna8

Oh for goodness sake. Talk of Hitler just makes me sick and I actually think it is the nearest thing to racism against German people who don’t follow the extremities of left politics. The extreme left is very dangerous, just as much as the extreme right.

Well said 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Doodledog

Does ‘welfarism’ include the provision of state pensions? We are always being told that they cannot be sustained. The NHS? Education? Housing benefits? Countries without welfare have old people dying on the streets and widespread illiteracy, not to mention untreated illness. Is that really what people want?

I assume that "welfarism" in this case is in the context of the German system. Germans pay a hefty amount towards their state pensions and sickness benefits (far more than the UK), so I'm not sure they're included.

Does ‘welfarism’ include the provision of state pensions? We are always being told that they cannot be sustained. The NHS? Education? Housing benefits? Countries without welfare have old people dying on the streets and widespread illiteracy, not to mention untreated illness. Is that really what people want?

nanna8, I'm sorry it makes you sick, but here are some parallels with the rise of Nazism in 1930s Germany:

1. They promote ethno-nationalism. They put the 'real' Germans before the other. There is an 'us v. them' dynamic.

2. They use Nazi rhetoric. 'Alice für Deutschland' sounds like the SA motto: 'Alles für Deutchland'. Some have attacked journalists saying they were enemies of the people (Volksverräter), the same way the Nazis did.

3. They engage in historical revisionism. Weidel claimed with she spoke with Musk, that Hitler was a communist or a socialist. Both are historically wrong, Hitler even thought the communism was a Jewish conspiracy.

4. Scapegoating of minorities. The us-versus-them narrative: immigrants, elites are the reasons why Germany is as it is right now.

5. They possess connections with Neo-nazi groups. For instance, the AfD’s youth wing, Junge Alternative, has been monitored by the German Verfassungsschutz (domestic intelligence service) for extremist tendencies.

Or

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68931170

More information about the AfD:

www.dw.com/en/german-afd-party-labeled-extremist-by-domestic-intelligence-agency/a-72413346#:~:text=Ahead%20of%20the%20parliamentary%20election,party%20is%20the%20German%20AfD%3F

or

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEIJmszgYHg

The OP seems to have been inspired by a headline in the Telegraph.

The truth is that the AfD are the favourites to win the upcoming election on Saxony-Anhalt. Should they do so, it would be the first time that AfD has taken control of any Land.

For an in-depth analysis of what's happening and why, it's useful to follow the German press, which can be accessed here:

www.dw.com/en/germany-far-right-afd-saxony-anhalt-elections-ulrich-siegmund-right-wing-extremism/a-77252189

nanna8

Oh for goodness sake. Talk of Hitler just makes me sick and I actually think it is the nearest thing to racism against German people who don’t follow the extremities of left politics. The extreme left is very dangerous, just as much as the extreme right.

It's not racism against the German people. You are surely aware what happened in the late 1920s/early 1930s Germany and can see the parallels. It would be hoped that one outcome of the rise of Nazism would be "never again", but apparently not.

The biggest support for AfD is in the former East Germany. Until re-unification, East Germans weren't taught history of their own country in the same way that West Germans were.

I'm not exactly sure what "welfarism" is, but East Germans' biggest gripe is a result of having lost personal state support over the last couple of decades. They were used to the safety net of communism, which they lost after re-unification. Seems somewhat ironic.

Oh for goodness sake. Talk of Hitler just makes me sick and I actually think it is the nearest thing to racism against German people who don’t follow the extremities of left politics. The extreme left is very dangerous, just as much as the extreme right.

I agree too FGT, fingers crossed we follow suit at the next GE

All the more space for us.
(Joke btw!)

I’ve asked for my previous post to be removed, as I’ve decided I prefer not to engage with this thread.

I agree FGT

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Are those German relatives hoping to morph back to the old days, say the 1930's?