Free Republic

Week-long curfews, the curtailing of civil liberties, shuttered shops and restaurants, apps that track peoples’ movements, and unprecedented public debt are themes we might encounter in dystopian movies. But these days, with the German government imposing ever stricter measures to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, such flicks pale in comparison with reality. Yet most Germans of voting age approve of the measures imposed, according to a survey commissioned by public broadcaster ARD and conducted by infratest dimap. Across the political spectrum, Germans deem the steps taken appropriate. Indeed, 72% of those surveyed said they are satisfied with...

The Green party surged in Hamburg state election on Sunday to claim the second place while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) could lose all their seats.

These thoughts reflect the writer's concern about the worsening political and social conditions in Germany, a nation whose importance — for America, Europe, and the world — should require no laboring to a readership of politically sophisticated Americans. What's happening today in Germany is deeply disturbing. And it's not for the reason casual American observers, including many conservatives, might think based on information derived from the mainstream English-language media. Contrary to these purveyors of globalist, multi-cultural propaganda, the reason for growing unease about Germany is not the presence in the German parliament (Bundestag), and persistent electoral strength, of "Die Alternative...

Who decides whether a word is racist? Does it depend on context? That’s what a German state court said after a far-right AfD politician repeatedly used the N-word in a debate. The decision caused outrage — and action.In the Duden online German dictionary, the word Neger (hereafter referred to as the N-word) is defined as a term for “a person of (very) dark skin.” In German, it is considered today to be the equivalent of both the dated and debated English term Negro and also the undeniably racist term n—r. The German word’s definition also includes a warning in red...

A new poll carried out in the wake of a far-right scandal in Thuringia has shown impressive gains in support for the Left party and a significant tumble for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) in the eastern state. The poll was conducted by infratest dimap and commissioned by the public broadcaster MDR. The CDU in has been accused of colluding with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Thuringia to get a conservative candidate elected state premier, despite the fact that his party — the laissez-faire Free Democrats (FDP) — barely cleared the 5% hurdle to get into Thuringia’s...

The woman who was widely seen as German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chosen successor will not lead her crisis-racked CDU party into upcoming elections, a party source told AFP on Monday. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, known as AKK, took over from Merkel as CDU chairwoman and presumed shoo-in for chancellor in 2018 but “has now said she will not be a candidate for the chancellery”, the source said. She made the surprise announcement after telling a crunch CDU meeting that the center-right party had “an unresolved relationship” with the far-right AfD party and the far left. It comes after an election debacle in...

The populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) relegated the Christian Democratic Union of German Chancellor Angela Merkel into third place as they saw a surge of support in the region of Thuringia. The regional branch of the AfD in Thuringia, led by firebrand politician Björn Höcke, managed to score 23.4 per cent of the vote on Sunday, coming second to the far-left Die Linke, a descendant of the former East German (DDR) Communist Party who won 31 per cent, Deutsche Welle reports. The result left the CDU of Chancellor Merkel in third place with 21.8 per cent of the vote, a...

Recent massive street protests in Ecuador and Chile could be interpreted as evidence of a left-wing comeback in Latin America. But tonight there is evidence in election results coming out of Argentina..... Also tonight election results in the presidential race in Uruguay with the ruling Left finding a tougher result.... A Democrat Congresswoman who sits on one of the committee's involved in the "impeachment inquiry" of President Trump announcing her resignation..... "Last night the United States brought the world's number one terrorist leader to justice" The words of President Trump speaking at the White House Sunday morning..... The protests continued...

Keep in mind that, according to most of our media (and even more so the European media), we are supposed to regard with fear the German “ultra-right-wing” political party, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). Also, keep in mind that we are supposed to believe that the Brexit battle pits Brits against a united Europe that is horrified at their effort to shatter the European Union. But, in fact, the arrogant, unaccountable transnational organizations, of which the EU is a leading example, have served global elites better than ordinary citizens of their constuent countries. Watch this speech in Germany’s parliament, the...

Grainy images of 70,000 protesters in Leipzig carrying candles and chanting "Wir sind das Volk" -- "We are the people!" -- were beamed across the world on October 9, 1989. The rally was a turning point in the fall of the Iron Curtain a month later. Kühne was one of the demonstrators who, in his words, "longed for a free and united country." Then a 21-year-old locksmith working at the state railway company, he said the uprising in his hometown was "the greatest thing I've ever experienced." Today he is again drawing inspiration from Germany's peaceful revolution -- this time,...

A Chinese government spokesman in Hong Kong is warning that "radical" protesters in the territory are bringing it to: "the verge of a very dangerous situation"..... Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is vowing to fight India's decision to take away the autonomy of Kashmir in forums including the UN Security Council and UN General Assembly...... Former FBI agent Peter Stzrok suing alleging he was wrongfully fired...... The FBI opening a domestic terrorism investigation into the attack on a garlic festival in Gilroy, California Sunday July 28th..... What is the level of FBI spying, surveillance and use of informants online?...... Many...

Police in Germany launched dozens of raids across the country on Thursday as part of a crackdown on incitement crimes being spread on the internet. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has said it searched residences in 13 federal states as part of a coordinated operation. One of the largest operations took place in the western city of Koblenz, where the apartments of 12 suspects were searched in connection to two right-wing extremist Facebook groups. The 12 suspects were between the ages of 45 and 68, and were believed to be responsible for the groups called “The Patriots,” and “Our...

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has pledged to unite Europe’s far-right into an international alliance of populists, and the European Parliamentary elections will be the first test of whether his strategy is bearing fruit. Leading political scientist Ivan Krastev has argued that Bannon’s form of populism is “likely to be the major alternative to liberalism in the coming decades.”

A German politician could become an "absolutely controlled" MP in the Bundestag, according to Russian documents seen by BBC Newsnight. The politician, Markus Frohnmaier, is a member of the German parliament from the far-right AfD party. The documents date back to April 2017, when Mr Frohnmaier was a candidate for election to the Bundestag. He was subsequently elected in September 2017.

AfD Bundestag speech (youtube video) on threat posed by leftwing extremism in Germany. Martin Hess speaker. English subtitles.

... Senior AfD politician Kay Gottschalk told German news agency dpa on Thursday night that Poggenburg had declared his resignation. Last March, Poggenburg resigned from his leadership role in Saxony-Anhalt after a series of controversies regarding speeches, online comments and leaked WhatsApp messages. The former party leader for the state told German daily Die Welt on Friday that he and other disenchanted AfD members had founded a new party called "Aufbruch deutscher Patrioten — Mitteldeutschland" (Uprising of German Patriots — Central Germany). Poggenburg's differences with the AfD party leadership in Berlin had "ultimately taken on an insurmountable scale, leading me...

... The BfV is empowered under the German constitution to act against perceived threats to the democratic order. Some statements by AfD leaders have been condemned as encouraging neo-Nazi extremism. AfD activists took part in far-right rallies in the eastern city of Chemnitz last year, marred by clashes with police.

A parliamentary worker for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been accused of ordering a false flag arson attack in an attempt to discredit Ukraine's government. Three men are on trial in Poland following last February's firebombing of a Hungarian culture center in Uzhorod, western Ukraine. According to Polish authorities, the attack was to be attributed to Ukrainian neo-Nazis in order to sour relations between Ukraine and Hungary. One of the accused, named only as Michal P., told the court that the attack, in which Molotov cocktails were used, was ordered by Manuel Ochsenreiter, who works in the office...

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency is to begin monitoring elements of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), placing particular focus on Björn Höcke, a nationalist agitator considered one of the driving forces in a move to take the party towards the extreme right. The BfV said it would also be keeping the party’s youth wing, Young Alternative (JA), under surveillance and would investigate whether the AfD as a whole should be put on its official watchlist, but said it still had insufficient evidence for doing so. Thomas Haldenwang, the agency’s head, said Höcke’s wing of the party was “a threat to...

A newly-released video is casting doubt on allegations made by a far-right German political party claiming one of its members suffered serious injuries after being attacked by three people in the northern city of Bremen. According to a statement on the AfD Bremen Facebook page, Frank Magnitz was the target of an “assassination attempt.” AfD says Magnitz was knocked unconscious with a piece of wood when he left a New Year's reception at a theater in the city. The party said the attackers continued to beat Magnitz on the head after he was down.