Der Spiegel, Germany’s leading journal of opinion (I could hardly read it or the Frankfurter Allgemeine in Deutsch but Die Bild Zeitung was easy to read!) is reporting on the possible surge in the polls for the euroskeptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Try this brief highlight:
At first glance, the Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) campaign ad seems about as threatening as a commercial for the local optician. It features outraged, but pleasant-seeming citizens — a father and his daughter, a newspaper-reading businesswoman and a cyclist — looking thoughful while asking questions. “Why is all our money going to Greece, instead of being invested in damaged streets and bridges?”, one person asks. “Why are pensioners left with an ever-smaller amount of money in their wallets? Who is paying for the debt that our politicians are accruing?”, asks another.
I love it! Echoes of Ron Paul saying lets build bridges in the US not ones we bombed in Iraq! Very powerful. And even Der Spiegel says it could work: They could reach to the five percent to enter the Bunsdestag. Might even do better than that. My guess is that it’ll be about 6 or 7 %. AfD voters tend to lie to pollsters!
The result [of the pollster's findings that AfD voters tend to be suspicious of polls and reporters, too!] is that most of the Alternative’s supporters refuse to be polled. That in turn means that they are certain to be undercounted.
Therefore I think AfD will poll about seven percent but could garner a bit more. I really like this campaign strategy:
One of its slogans, “Immigration according to qualification, not into welfare” is reminiscent of a similar line used by the right-wing extremist NPD (“Immigration into welfare: we say no!”) The party is lining the streets with campaign posters stating that “The euro is ruining Europe.”
You cannot subsidize immigration and you can say it without being racist or xenophobic. But you have to be humane about it and some Republicans are not gracious in discussing the immigration issue.
But the line, “The euro is ruining Europe” is priceless – give that ad agency a raise! UKIP ought to use it. But what AfD and UKIP and other European anti-federalists (similar to our Tea Party movement) should argue that integration into a single entity is the creation of superempire – without the genuine consent of the people. The EU elites gambled that the benefits or European integration would outweigh the loss of liberty and sovereignty. Not so well right now!
Can’t wait until September 22. Yes Germany votes on Sundays. I suppose they have some sort of provision for those who cannot vote on Sunday. I remember when Willy Brandt was re-elected in late 1972 and it was about as exciting as sliced bread – they had massive rallies but it was an easy win for the SPD. Maybe we might be better if we voted on Saturday and Sunday instead of obscure Tuesdays.
Article written by: Elwood "Sandy" Sanders
About Elwood Sanders
Elwood "Sandy" Sanders is a Hanover attorney who is an Appellate Procedure Consultant for Lantagne Legal Printing and has written ten scholarly legal articles. Sandy was also Virginia's first Appellate Defender and also helped bring curling in VA! (None of these titles imply any endorsement of Sanders’ views)
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