With reluctance, concern about immigration, successive scandals in the bosom of the extreme right and 16-year-olds voting for the first time, the Germans are coming to the polls today to elect the 96 MEPs that belong to their country. The pre-election period was sluggish, but the majority of voters have a positive opinion of the European Union – one in two even expresses an interest in the outcome of the election.

If the Alternative for Germany (AfD) had not taken care in recent weeks to feed the public with cases of espionage, bribery and provocative statements with neo-Nazi … deviations, perhaps many in Germany would be completely indifferent to the upcoming elections for the European Parliament. “Go vote!”, the presidents of Germany, Austria and Italy called the citizens together a few days ago, with an article in the “Tagesspiegel” newspaper. “With the elections we defend our democracy and our common freedom”, the three presidents emphasized, highlighting the fact that in our time “the European principles of pluralism, human rights and the rule of law are being questioned in many parts of the world”. Actors, singers, musicians and social media influencers also took part in a campaign for voter turnout.

According to recent research by YouGov Institute, 53% of voters in Germany say they care about Europe, with 41% admitting they have a “weak” to “no” interest in the European Union and its functioning. 53% of respondents would like an EU with stronger cohesion, while 21% would prefer member states to have more autonomy. One in two voters also states that they consider the European elections as important as the national elections.

In her research public television ZDF, 62% of voters aged 26-69 say they intend to vote, and general participation is expected to fluctuate at this level. Conversely, 57% of 16-25 year olds intend to abstain. However, 78% in this age group say they would vote for Germany to remain in the EU if such a referendum were held, while 67% are satisfied with “the way democracy works in the EU”. For all age groups, however, maintaining peace and security emerges as a top priority.

In the last poll, on Friday, Christian Union (CDU/CSU) maintains its lead with a percentage of 29%, while it seems that there will be a battle for second place. The Social Democratic Party is at 15% and they follow with a difference of one unit Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Greens. The newly established “Alliance Zara Wagenknecht” (BSW) is at 6%, the Liberal Party (FDP) at 4% and the Left at 3%. For the Left, the European elections have never been a privileged field. But this year the party is fighting for its survival, as the former head of its parliamentary group, Zara Wagenknecht, left a few months ago, taking about half of its voters with her. With a mix of left-wing rhetoric and nationalist and populist messages, the “Zara Wagenknecht Alliance” is winning votes from its old party, but also from the AfD.

In the European elections, however, the electoral measure of 5% does not apply and many of the 35 participating parties have serious hopes of electing an MEP. Between them, two parties for the protection of animals, one for the promotion of medical research against diseases associated with ageing, a party of vegetarians and vegans, MeRA25 of Yanis Varoufakis, the Pirates and the “Party for a Humane World”. The satirical “The Party” (Die Partei), which was started by the magazine “Titanikos”, holds two seats in the European Parliament, with positions such as imposing a pan-European ceiling on the price of a doner and a beer. THE “Base” (Die Basis) has its roots in protest against the measures taken by the government to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Among other things, it calls for the withdrawal from NATO, denies man-made climate change and rejects the application of digital technology in the banking and health sectors. The climate activist organization “Last Generation” (Letzte Generation), which became known for its controversial protest actions, e.g. with its members sticking their hands on the asphalt in order to block traffic.

The extreme right is not represented in the European elections only by the Alternative for Germany. THE “Homeland” (Die Heimat) has been officially classified by the Federal Constitution Office as a far-right organization and is essentially a renaming of “National Democratic Party of Germany” (NPD), which has been banned. “Patrida” calls for Germany’s withdrawal from the EU and NATO, the return of the mark, “mandatory repatriation” and the deletion of the right to asylum from the Constitution.

In today’s European elections, the vote of the citizens of Germany will still be requested by “Alliance for Innovation and Justice” (BIG), which is considered the first German party founded by Muslims. It defines itself as “the voice of citizens with or without a migration history” and in its program calls for reform of the Dublin Regulation, simplification of family reunification and acceleration of asylum procedures, but also “fair accession negotiations in the EU – and for Turkey”. The agenda of the newly established one is similar “Democratic Alliance for Diversity and Awakening” (DAVA), which is “charged” to Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP party, as its most prominent executives are organized supporters of it. The party’s leading candidate, Fatih Zingal, has been a representative of the Union of International Democrats (UID), which is monitored by the Federal Agency for the Protection of the Constitution as an “interest group close to the Turkish government”, and the third on the list, Mustafa Yoldas, was president of International Humanitarian Agency (IHA), which was outlawed in 2010 for financially supporting Hamas. DAVA aspires to establish itself as a party and also participate in the next national elections. He calls for the fight against Islamophobia and the introduction of the Turkish language as a second foreign language in German schools.

The polls in Germany will close at 18:00 (local time) and will be followed by the announcement of the exit polls of the two public television channels ARD and ZDF. The first official results will be broadcast at 23:00, after the closing of the last ballot box in the EU, in Italy.

The AfD case

2024 started with the best omens for the German far-right. With more than 22% and a solid second place in the polls, the AfD looked set to be, along with Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, the strongest parties to the right of the European People’s Party. However, the revelation of the participation of its executives in a secret meeting, where together with “distinguished” neo-Nazis the plan of “mandatory repatriation” of millions of immigrants is discussed, also marked the beginning of the countdown for the party’s percentages. The arrest of a close associate of the head of the European ballot Maximilian Kra for espionage in favor of China, the investigation of him for relations with Beijing and Moscow, the prosecutor’s investigation against the second on the list Peter Briston with the suspicion of bribery and money laundering originating from Russia, and of course the court decision justifying the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution for classifying the AfD as a “potentially far-right” case. Meanwhile, even ID, the Eurogroup of “Identity and Democracy” that includes the parties of Marine Le Pen and Dutch Prime Minister Geird Wilders, has deemed the AfD too extreme and is pushing for its expulsion.

So where for months AfD’s “roosters” were also “breeding”, aided by internal problems and the image of “Babel” in the governing coalition, the party’s percentages have now been “restricted” to close to 14-16%. Ahead of local elections in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg, strongholds of the AfD, the European election ballot is seen as perhaps the most reliable barometer.

Indicative of how seriously the AfD in Germany it is also the rather unusual intervention of two of the country’s largest industries in the pre-election period. The heads of Mercedes and Siemens called on voters in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung to stand up to extremism and racism. “We must now stand up and take action! Extremism and racism endanger the cohesion of society. Simple answers are given to complex questions. Answers that could never bring results,” said Siemens chief Roland Bush, while Mercedes’ Ola Kelenius pointed out that “in 2024 there wouldn’t be a single car from our factories” if it weren’t for people of immigrant origin. . “A possible German withdrawal from the EU would be tantamount to economic disaster. As an exporting country, Germany cannot afford to isolate itself. We need to make it clear how dangerous such a policy would be,” he added. The Institute for German Economics (IW) recently estimated that a “Dexit” would cost around 2.2 million jobs and warned that the AfD is anything but a “party of the weak” as its tax program mainly favors high incomes.

(Euro)elections – a milestone?

Even with the AfD “only” at 14%, predictions say that in the 10th European Parliament far-right, nationalist and populist forces will strengthen spectacularly. So under the threat of a strong faction to the right of the EPP, calls for “protection of democracy” are intensifying in Germany. Even the heads of the Catholic and Protestant churches are urging citizens to vote. “The EU and democracy are absolutely necessary,” said Bavarian bishop Christian Popp.

What is certain is that citizens in Germany are no longer entitled to pretend to be unsuspecting. The revelations of the past few months have significantly clarified the picture, at least regarding the true identity and “beliefs” of the AfD. The parties of the governing coalition, however, are still worn out by their difficulty in agreeing and making decisions. For Germany – if not for the entire EU – this year’s European elections will show the direction for the next – crucial – years. In the 75 years of constitutional democracy that the country is celebrating this year, this alone should be reason enough for no one to stay away.