Despite the AfD's Rise, Germany Can Defeat the Far-Right Threat Through Bold Centrist Courage
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/johnkampfner. "The shadow of the AfD hangs over German democracy – but I still have faith in my adopted country | John Kampfner | The Guardian." September 2, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
The author, a British-German dual citizen, worries about the far-right AfD party potentially taking power in a German state election, seeing it as a serious threat to democracy. Despite this, he argues that Germany has overcome big challenges before through bold action, and he believes that if the political center shows more courage now, Germany can beat back this far-right threat too.
Conclusion
Despite the alarming rise of the far-right AfD and the erosion of Germany's postwar democratic consensus, the author maintains cautious optimism that Germany can overcome this threat if the political center adopts bolder, more courageous policymaking.
Premises
- Germany has a track record of transforming itself in response to existential challenges, such as restructuring its economy after being labeled the 'sick man of Europe' in the late 1990s and dramatically increasing defense spending from 1% to a targeted 3.5% of GDP
- Public opinion surveys show that alongside alarm at democratic backsliding, there is strong determination—particularly among young people—to reinforce democracy
- Positive developments such as a half-trillion-euro infrastructure investment and a strong engineering base being redeployed into new industries are occurring but go underreported because they don't fit the dominant narrative of decline
- Community cohesion and solidarity remain strong in many areas of German society, exemplified by President Steinmeier's description of Germany embracing 'the alien, the different, the new'
- The AfD's extremist positions (remigration policies, downplaying Nazi history, pro-Kremlin sympathies) represent a genuine and serious threat, but the AfD's dominance in political discourse does not necessarily reflect the full reality of German society
- What is needed to counter the far-right threat is not just passive appeals to democratic values but a more pugnacious, risk-taking approach to policymaking from the political center
Assumptions
- Bold or courageous policymaking by centrist parties can effectively counter far-right populist momentum
- Past examples of German economic and defense policy transformation are analogous to the challenge of defeating a resurgent far-right political movement
- Public sentiment favoring democracy will translate into effective political outcomes rather than being overridden by disinformation and political fragmentation
- The underreporting of positive developments means the true trajectory of German society is more favorable than the dominant media narrative suggests
- The author's personal, emotional attachment to Germany does not bias his assessment of the country's institutional resilience