Elections Prove Germany’s East West Divide Difficult To Overcome
Germany is tallying the results of the Parliamentary elections which took place last Sunday. The biggest sensation is the triumphal appearance of a new Euro-skeptical party in the Parliament— The Alternative for Germany.
They are really good at uncovering problems. And the configuration becomes ever more complicated. By the way, most of the Alternative voters are in the east of the country, which is the territory of the ex-GDR. That's the former German Democratic Republic. The head of our European office, Mikhail Antonov, went there for a visit.
A lot of German restaurants have a table which is always reserved, a so-called Stammtisch. That's where people with common interests meet together, following a certain schedule. The owner of this place asked us not to mention its name because here Stammtisch is reserved for the Alternative for Germany. And although the party has won in this district, there's a risk that the left could come and could break the windows. So it's just — somewhere in Saxony.
- We need to understand that the struggle continues. One election is over, but now we need to prepare for the next one. We'll have to work just as hard.
Johanes, AfD Supporter: "I talked a lot to my friends and other people. I should make it clear that even families are divided. I could never imagine that so many people would vote for the AfD".
Actually, the AfD came in first in Saxony. In the remaining 4 of the 5 Eastern states, except for traditionally left Berlin, the Euro-skeptics got second place. On Tuesday, Germany will celebrate the anniversary of reunification, but even 27 years later, the East is still the East, and the West—the West.
Peter, AfD Supporter: "The Western Germans have always lived too well. They still don't understand that a welfare country is incompatible with open borders. A welfare state cannot exist in conditions where social contributions are paid by a limited number of people, but are used by an unlimited number".
- Now, you're voting for a party that wants new borders in Europe, but 27 years ago, Saxony was the one to say "We are one people!" So you are the same people who already destroyed one border in Europe. Can you explain this to me?
Rene Hein, AfD Representative: "The problem is that it's not Swedish or Danish people coming in. They are also not the Russians. We don't have a problem with them. It's mostly people from Arabic and African countries that move in here. They are used to a very different lifestyle. They can't and don't want to integrate. We are breaking our society ourselves".
The term "depressive region" is a relative term. Compared to others, the German depression looks quite well. But the fact is that the East in general is poorer than the West. Still, there are places here that through hard competition managed to win their economical niche. Saxonian Bautzen, for example - the mustard capital of Germany. The Germans eat a lot of mustard, so this place is doing fine.
Mikhail Antonov: Still, in Bautzen the right drift of the German electorate is the most obvious. Merkel's party has never lost here before. In 2013, it got 45%. But this time only 27%. In just 4 years,
Bautzen has turned from the stronghold of the Christian democrats, into a base of the Alternative. In terms of multi-culturalism, Bautzen has experience. Apart from the Germans, the Slavic Sorbians of Upper Lusatia also live here. Sure, they've been living together for 1,500 years. Still, there are not many places in Germany where the Catholics and Protestants would go to the same church.
A famous German political scientist, Werner Patzelt, believes that the protest sentiment which allowed the AfD to gather the record 33% stems from the memory of how hard it was to reach the current state of well-being.
Werner Patzelt, political scientist: "The AfD voters want to change the course which they believe to be wrong. Such a huge number of people in this region voted for the AfD not because they are doing bad. The Saxonians are saying, "We've accomplished so much, and we don't want to lose that. But that's where we'll end up with the traditional parties".
Anton Frizen, AfD Member of Bundestag: "The GDR people are still patriotic. That's one thing. And another thing is they still have this protest sentiment. As you know, this whole reunification movement started at the grassroots level in the East Germany." — In Saxony? -Yes, in Saxony. Especially in Leipzig. "And it happened when no one in the West was thinking about it anymore. Yeah, and that's why a lot of people in the East still have this urge to go on the street and protest against something".
Anton Frizen is one of the two Russian-speaking members of the Bundestag. He represents the voters of the AfD in Thuringia. It's clear why the Euro-skeptics made it to the Parliament. The question is what for. What can these 12.5% of the Parliaments members achieve?
Anton Frizen: "We have a fundamentally different stance on many issues. For example, about the immigration policy. The same goes for the European policy. I think it would make sense to talk to the right—as you called it— wing of the CDU. And I believe we'll establish these contacts. Not right away, of course, but with time we will. And maybe we'll affect in some way the political discourse in Germany".
After all, it was the ultra-right, or rather the rate at which they were gaining support, that made Merkel change the immigration policy without openly admitting her mistakes. Without that, the Alternative could have become the second strongest power in Bundestag instead of the SPD. Although the third place it got is still a disaster for the Chancellor. She has to count her losses.
Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany: "Of course, we expected a better result. We've analyzed the behavior of our electorate. 1,300 thousand people voted for the Free Democratic Party and almost 1 million— for the Alternative for Germany".
Yes, Merkel kept her ground, but the Christian Democrats have lost an incredible 8.5% compared to the previous elections. There's another nuisance which is now coming into the picture. Previously only the left were standing in Merkel's way. But now, with the arrival of the Euro-skeptics, the center has become even more narrow.
And after the Social Democrats, who suffered the most humiliating defeat in their history, refused to rebuild a big coalition, Merkel has only one option left— to somehow build a Jamaica, a black-yellow-green government with the Free Democrats and Greens. Sure, these parties are small, but their demands are anything but small. And the negotiations are already on.
Katrin Göring-Eckardt, The Green Party Co-Chair: "To form a coalition, all parties have to be responsible and be open to compromise".
The Free Democrats expect to get the Federal Foreign Office. The ecologists demand the Ministry of Finance. The problem is that everyone has a different view on foreign policy, let alone the finances. And on the future of the combustion engine, too. Of course, Merkel will try to reconcile the radical views of the Greens with the radical position of the Bavarian allies from the SPD, who protect the interests of the BMW and Audi manufacturers.
All in all, Merkel expects the new government to be born some time around Christmas. It has to. Merkel's optimism is mostly based on the fact that all parties she's now negotiating with have one thing in common. It's a common fear of the Alternative.
It would be the last thing for them to show the inability to compromise. Because Germany's political field has a huge fracture, which sends out smaller cracks in every direction. To make the picture more complete, imagine a mine on that field which is the chance of a repeat election.
Mikhail Antonov, Alexander Korostelyov, Andrei Putra. Vesti News of the Week from Germany.