A new report by legal experts has found that efforts to ban Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) could be successful — but there would be political dangers to such a move.
Besides the fact that we already had skilled-worker immigration programs for decades, you didn’t answer my question. You want the other parties to adopt AfD views “in a milder form”. Which views are those gonna be? Asylum? Immigration? Because the AfD is conflating those. And judging from their little meeting in 2024, their politicians made it clear that they also planning to deport German citizens that don’t fit their racist ideas.
EDIT: Oh, and before i forget. There are other topics the AfD is going against “the mainstream”. I wonder what the “milder form” is there. The topics among others:
Permanent border controls and technology-driven surveillance led to a 42% drop in irregular crossings during 2025.
I don’t see any evidence for that claimed cause and effect relationship. Just because irregular border crossings fell doesn’t mean that the policies worked. The article just claims it does, without providing any evidence whatsoever.
Also, it’s mixing a few things up. Irregular border crossings are primarily related to asylum seekers. Skilled-worker immigration laws have nothing to do with that.
Oh, btw. here’s a photo of a border crossing nearby. I’m still looking for that dystopian ai powered surveillance here. Can’t seem to find it… almost as if it’s all just a show for gullible people…
Your mistake is to assume that immigration is their only topic. Or the only topic the population cares about. Anti-immigration is a small subset of their voter base. I already told you what other topics they cover among others. So you may want to actually inform yourself about the politics and social discussions in the country you try to yanksplain.
Their entire thing is being contrarian. Whatever the government decides, they will oppose it. For example: When corona hit, they called for lock downs. Once those lock downs were implemented, they called for lifting lock downs. You cannot win against them by copying a “milder form” of whatever they scream about, because they just do the pigeon on a chessboard thing and shit on it. They frame themselves as “rebels against the system” in every channel they can run on.
Political scientists have repeatedly pointed out that accommodation does NOT work. It only strengthens and legitimized the far-right. It’s a simple question: Why vote the copy, if you can have the original?
Because the thing you apparently do not know about Germany is this: The mainstream parties, especially CDU, is constantly accommodating the far-right. And they’re doing that “milder form” for ~15 years now, and shifting the discourse further and further to the right. If your assumption were right, the AfD shouldn’t exist anymore.
You know what did work against the AfD? The Mass Protests of 2024. It caused them to drop several points in the polls. Turns out, making them socially unacceptable does work. The same way it worked against the NPD, which never gained a lot of influence in the first place. You know why? Because nobody was copying them, and barely any media was hosting them.
The centrist view on immigration would only permit migrants who have talent or needed skills.
Besides the fact that we already had skilled-worker immigration programs for decades, you didn’t answer my question. You want the other parties to adopt AfD views “in a milder form”. Which views are those gonna be? Asylum? Immigration? Because the AfD is conflating those. And judging from their little meeting in 2024, their politicians made it clear that they also planning to deport German citizens that don’t fit their racist ideas.
EDIT: Oh, and before i forget. There are other topics the AfD is going against “the mainstream”. I wonder what the “milder form” is there. The topics among others:
From https://www.visaverge.com/news/friedrich-merz-leads-conservative-push-to-reshape-germanys-immigration-policy/
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has implemented sharply more restrictive migration policies while prioritizing pathways for specialized labor.
Permanent border controls and technology-driven surveillance led to a 42% drop in irregular crossings during 2025.
The Skilled Immigration Act was updated to fast-track visas for nurses and engineers to address labor shortages.
The AfD has stands on other topics, but I suspect its popularity is their view on immigration.
I don’t see any evidence for that claimed cause and effect relationship. Just because irregular border crossings fell doesn’t mean that the policies worked. The article just claims it does, without providing any evidence whatsoever.
Also, it’s mixing a few things up. Irregular border crossings are primarily related to asylum seekers. Skilled-worker immigration laws have nothing to do with that.
Oh, btw. here’s a photo of a border crossing nearby. I’m still looking for that dystopian ai powered surveillance here. Can’t seem to find it… almost as if it’s all just a show for gullible people…
Whether it was the result of Merz policies, the reduction in illegal border crossers will undermine the AfD’s appeal.
It doesn’t. Illegal border crossings are already down for years. Btw. do you see the refugees in the photo i posted?
Then why is the AfD popular if there few illegal border crossers?
Your mistake is to assume that immigration is their only topic. Or the only topic the population cares about. Anti-immigration is a small subset of their voter base. I already told you what other topics they cover among others. So you may want to actually inform yourself about the politics and social discussions in the country you try to yanksplain.
Their entire thing is being contrarian. Whatever the government decides, they will oppose it. For example: When corona hit, they called for lock downs. Once those lock downs were implemented, they called for lifting lock downs. You cannot win against them by copying a “milder form” of whatever they scream about, because they just do the pigeon on a chessboard thing and shit on it. They frame themselves as “rebels against the system” in every channel they can run on.
Political scientists have repeatedly pointed out that accommodation does NOT work. It only strengthens and legitimized the far-right. It’s a simple question: Why vote the copy, if you can have the original?
Because the thing you apparently do not know about Germany is this: The mainstream parties, especially CDU, is constantly accommodating the far-right. And they’re doing that “milder form” for ~15 years now, and shifting the discourse further and further to the right. If your assumption were right, the AfD shouldn’t exist anymore.
https://goodauthority.org/news/embracing-populism-doesnt-hurt-right-wing-parties-it-may-help-them/
https://theloop.ecpr.eu/mainstream-parties-adopting-far-right-rhetoric-simply-increases-votes-for-far-right-parties/
You know what did work against the AfD? The Mass Protests of 2024. It caused them to drop several points in the polls. Turns out, making them socially unacceptable does work. The same way it worked against the NPD, which never gained a lot of influence in the first place. You know why? Because nobody was copying them, and barely any media was hosting them.
Merz’s policies to tighten the border began in 2025 when he became chancellor. How is that 15 years?