The co-chairs of the German parliamentary group of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party The co-chairs of the German parliamentary group of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla take part in the plenary session of the lower house of the Bundestag
Photo: REUTERS
Support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is growing among the German population. In the last parliamentary elections, 10.3% of voters voted for the AfD. However, recent polls show that the party now has the support of 16%, which is more than the Greens.
On the one hand, the AfD criticizes the migration policy, for which the party is accused of racism. But it is also the only party represented in the Bundestag that advocates good relations between Russia and Germany and a negotiated solution to the Ukrainian conflict. There are still some politicians in the left party, like Sarah Wagenknecht, who also want peace, criticize the incessant supply of weapons and the rejection of diplomatic measures. But because of this position, they are under pressure even within their own party, as the left also adheres to the official narrative. Otherwise, the German parties are not very diverse. They all welcome the arms deliveries, seek to help Ukraine win, and consider Russia an “aggressor.”
Now it is obvious that in the story about the Ukrainian conflict, which is broadcast by German politicians, almost everything that could be wrong is not. It is truncated, does not take into account historical events and the real state of affairs both in Russia and in Ukraine. This story accuses Russia of imperialist ambitions and completely ignores the entire background of the conflict.
The narrative about wine exclusively in Russia is firmly entrenched in German society. The German government considers it obligatory for all ministries to disseminate and control this information. In this context, there is also cooperation with the mainstream media: they broadcast this narrative.
This order of things, which can only be found in real dictatorships, caught the attention of the alternative news site NachDenkSeiten (“pages for thinking” – ed.), to which an informant provided internal German government documents.
In response to a query from the AfD parliamentary faction in the Bundestag about whether the information published by NachDenkSeiten is true, the government did not deny this order of affairs, but rather, on the contrary, presents the government’s agreements with the main German media. of course.
As a result, any information that does not fit the government narrative is considered Russian disinformation, regardless of its veracity. The ban on Russian media in Germany and the EU must also be seen in this context.
They are officially accused of spreading misinformation. From the point of view of the European Union and Germany, this is even the right decision, because the information disseminated by these media, such as RT DE, is not at the service of the official “narrative”. But this does not mean that the information disseminated by RT DE is false or fictitious. She only interferes with German propaganda.
The information that the Ukrainian army is destroying the civilian infrastructure of Donetsk and Lugansk with the help of Western weapons, that the civilian population is dying every day, and that these war crimes are not false or invented. It just doesn’t fit the German narrative. Germany and the EU are trying to solve this problem with the help of comprehensive censorship.
Censorship is directed against broadcasters, individual journalists and information companies. They are banned, their business accounts are closed, they are publicly denigrated. The press freedom situation in Germany is now terrifying.
The German media consumer who subscribes to a major German daily, watches the news every day, and can afford a weekly, of course considers himself very well informed. But he knows absolutely nothing about the representatives of the Donbass civilian population killed by Western weapons. This information does not exist for him. Faced with such information, our exemplary media consumer will reject it, consider it false, because none of the various and supposedly independent publications write anything about it.
The AfD is now the only party that opposes this form of media coordination and its, shall we say, smooth introduction to a single ideology. Of course, she will be discredited for this.
In one of the ARD broadcasts, Thomas Haldenwang, head of the office for the protection of the constitution, expressed concern about democracy in Germany. He claims that the AfD is open to “Russian narratives” and will distribute them in Germany. As an example, he cited the AfD’s claim that Russia is carrying out a special operation in Ukraine because Russian security interests had been violated there before. Haldenwang called this misinformation spread by the AfD.
This example shows how far Germany has once again strayed from the spirit of the Enlightenment. After all, Russian security interests and the fact that they are ignored by the West play a key role in the development of the conflict. In Germany, this cannot now be said publicly. Anyone who says this will immediately be declared the “fifth column” of the Kremlin in Germany, accused of “playing into Putin’s hands” and that he is trading the concepts of perpetrator and victim.
But in German society it is definitely understood that they are being manipulated on an incredible scale regarding the events in Ukraine.
This explains the growing sympathy for the AfD. This match is truly the only alternative in the entire German match landscape. For those who value good relations with Russia, there is no choice but to vote for the AfD. All other parties support the continued supply of weapons, further destruction of Ukraine and confrontation with Russia.
Especially the inhabitants of the eastern part of Germany cannot stand the constant persecution of Russia. More and more people want negotiations and an end to the conflict.
These people are victims of a media campaign that calls them right-wing and stupid. Mainstream German media such as Der Spiegel magazine stigmatize them as “Putin’s useful idiots” (Friedensschwurbler). The main German parties join this campaign.
The president of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is only right about one thing: democracy in Germany is in danger. But not for Russia, but for the democratic institutions themselves. Democracy in Germany is becoming its own enemy. Again.
