Vsevolod Chaplin: ''West Germans are too bruised by their Nazi past...''
German ‘’alternative’’: populism or uncomfortable truth? The column of Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin
Germany has recently had the federal election. If the victory of the party of Angela Merkel, though not conclusive, did not cause any surprise, but the entering in the Bundestag of Alternative for Germany was a sensation. Some experts are already sounding the alarm, calling ''the alternatives'' of Germany almost Nazis. According to the columnist of Realnoe Vremya Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, the situation is not so terrible as it seems. In the newspaper column, written for our online newspaper, the Orthodox priest tells how these conservatives ''hooked'' the German voter and why radical right parties are gaining popularity in Europe.
''A significant part of the press is being indignant''
The results of the election to the Bundestag were predicted with almost apothecary precision. Nevertheless, they became a red rag for many liberals both in Germany and Russia. The reason is the third place of Alternative for Germany (AfD), recently created by the radical right-wing party, for the first time entered in the lower house of the German parliament. In a number of German cities there have been held quite violent rallies, where the alternatives were called racists and Nazis. A significant part of the press is being indignant. This is also echoed by our supporters of rotten ''universal values'', tolerance, political correctness and other ''open society''.
At the same time it should be noted that the Alternative can be called conservative by no stretch of the imagination: the leadership of this party does not dispute the achievements of the ''sexual revolution'', it does not require to end Germany's dependence on the US, NATO and the European Union (even the protest against the euro has softened a little), it is not willing to tell the truth about the real ethnic and racial differences that defines the national character and to refute liberal nonsense about ''the same ability to progress'' of any human being. The Germans, especially West, are too bruised by their Nazi past and sincerely believe that even a shadow of accusation of trying to repeat it is an unbearable nightmare.
''The results of the elections to the Bundestag were predicted with almost apothecary precision. Nevertheless, they became a red rag for many liberals both in Germany and Russia.'' Photo: epa.eu
However, against this background, the ''traditional right-wing'' looks more boring, and it is no coincidence that the position in the Bundestag is now severely weakened. The ''Christian'' ruling party headed by Angela Merkel between the the Gospel and political correctness will always choose political correctness. Actually, German communities do the same, calling themselves Christians — both Evangelical and Catholic. None of them would dare, for example, to openly call homosexuality a path to hell, and migrants — a threat to Christian culture.
''Common sense and realism are what AfD has''
Against this background, it is paradoxical that Christian values are advocated by people coming out from post-socialist societies — ''East'' Germans and immigrants from the former Soviet Union. They have become the most solid support of AfG. Oddly enough, a truly Christian moral and cultural awareness, even not being connected with formal religious literacy, in these societies was ''conserved'' and survived much better than in West Germans. Even persecuting the religion, the Communist authorities were unable to penetrate deeply into the soul. The propaganda of material success and selfishness, arrogant dictate of the ''revolution of the sixties'', sex ''freedom'' and panic fear of any discrimination were much ''better'' killers of Christian morality and even common sense.
It is not by accident the known Russian political expert Alexander Rahr, the son of a prominent conservative figure in Russian emigration Gleb Rahr, names the reason for the success of the Alternative and the weakening of Merkel her immigration policy, from the extremes of which the bundeskanzlerin began to depart, without being, however, able to ever clean herself from the association with it.
Common sense and realism is what AfD has, no matter how much the liberals call it ''nationalist'', archconservative, populist. Because every normal person understands that people who come from some Middle Eastern and African countries will not become a replacement labour force, on which, according to rumors, Merkel puts hopes. They will not become not in the current generation or in the next. Many of them represent peoples who never did not want to work and could not. But they always were striving to power, and this is partly dictated by their religious attitudes. It is not they who will work for the Germans, but the Germans will work for them — until they die or flee.
''The parliamentary tribune, received by 94 candidates from AfD, will probably become the alternatives a new round of activity and can generate an unexpectedly bright political career.'' Photo: news2world.net
''The position of the consistent right-wing in Europe is strengthening''
Many native citizens of Germany perfectly understand this terrible reality. I know this from hundreds of conversations on the sidelines of various international meetings, at the table of a biergarten or coffee in the parish houses — Catholic and even Protestant (the majority of German followers of Luther and Calvin refer to the left-liberal side of the political spectrum). However, the ''Wessi'' in these cases spoke off the record, sometimes literally dropping their voice. Almost with the same whisper under Andropov the ''system'' Orthodox clergy mentioned a Black Hundreds John of Kronstadt…
The prospects of AfD are more than vague. This party won't be accepted in the coalition forming the government, of course, under any circumstances. Even despite the fact that the CDU/CSU will have to negotiate hard with the allies, whom, moreover, they will have to ''settle'' with each other for a long time. However, the parliamentary tribune, received by 94 candidates from AfD, will probably become for ''the alternatives'' a new round of activity and can generate an unexpectedly bright political career. Including for ''Russian Germans''. It's true that people are hearing, even if for a few decades they were given a lie as ''the axioms of democracy''.
The position of the consistent right-wing in Europe is strengthening, despite the fact that our liberals are trying desperately to lament that ''the wave of revenge got bogged down''. That means that Russia should rely not on nonalternative dialogue with the current government leaders but on the most extensive political contacts in both left and right opposition. Especially that among the supporters of the latter t-shirts with Putin are popular, what is more — in this environment he is one of the most respected contemporary politicians.