25/01/2025
Charlie Kimber, writing in the left wing weekly, Socialist Worker, writes on the threats to democracy emerging from Germany. These are not just from the established neo-fascist AfD Party, but also from fake left wing parties that are prepared to throw transgender people under the proverbial bus to build bigoted support, in much the same way as George Galloway's bizarre socialist and transphobic Workers Party of Britain in the UK. Mr Kimber writes "Fascists have grabbed the most votes in a German state election for the first time since the Nazi era. There could be no clearer sign of the danger of the rise of fascism—and the need for an urgent response in Germany as well as Britain, France, Italy, Austria, Spain and elsewhere. With most votes counted, the Alternative For Germany (AfD) had taken around 32.5 percent of the vote in the east German state of Thuringia and about 31 percent in Saxony.... The results do not necessarily mean the AfD takes office in Thuringia or Saxony. Other parties have publicly ruled out any collaboration with it to form a majority. But will this last in the grubby search for positions and local power? The other big winner in the elections was the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW). It’s a particularly toxic version of the “economically left, socially right” trend loosely represented by George Galloway in Britain. Wagenknecht broke from the Die Linke left party last year. She said it had abandoned its traditional voter base and instead focused on supporting the identity politics of “bizarre minorities”. This was an open attack on anyone campaigning for LGBT+ and trans+ rights and completely undermines the importance of fighting racism, sexism and other forms of oppression. German socialist Timo Koenig writes, “The response of the bourgeois politicians is pure racism. They almost unanimously assume that there is a causal connection between immigration and knife violence—and thus stoke fears from which the AfD alone benefits.
“The next few weeks will be decisive: Wherever the fascist right takes to the streets and tries to exploit the Solingen attack for their fantasies of annihilation, we must oppose them en masse and with determination. “It is crucial to stand together with everyone who wants to stop the fascist threat. At the same time, we must take a stand against the policies of the governing parties and the CDU.” On Saturday, thousands of protesters rallied in Thuringia’s regional capital, Erfurt, denouncing the AfD as fascists.
https://socialistworker.co.uk/
