Germany's far-right paradox

This is a 3 minute read

All over Europe far-right parties are polling in the mid twenties. Not so in Germany. The once high-flying Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) started to lose steam two years ago and are struggling to stay in the double digits.

But weakening support for the party founded seven years ago by a group of Eurosceptic professors disguises a more troubling trend in right-wing extremism in Germany today.

• In the summer of 2019 neo-Nazi Stephan E. gunned down the CDU politician Walter Lübcke over his support for Angela Merkel’s refugee policy. 

• Only a few months later, Stephan B. attempted to massacre Jews celebrating Yom Kippur in a synagogue in Halle. He failed but killed two bystanders. 

• In February of 2020 Tobias R. went on a shooting spree in Hanau, murdering nine people from ethnic minorities.

These acts of violence sent shockwaves through a country where the wounds of the NSU terror attacks are still fresh. The National Socialist Underground (NSU) were able to murder Turkish and Greek immigrant