Although Germans did not choose AfD to govern them yesterday, they were the biggest winners in the election doubling their vote from 10.4% in 2021 to 20.8% winning 152 seats, the second largest seat total in the Bundestag. For all intents and purposes, AfD is Germany's main opposition party. How long will it be before they come to power?
While German voters ousted Olaf Scholz from the office of Chancellor, his Social Democratic Party will likely be a junior partner in a grand coalition with the mainstream conservative Christian Democratic Union led by Friederich Merz who will likely succeed Scholz as Chancellor. One can only hope a grand coalition under Merz where the traffic light coalition of Scholz's Social Democrats with the Greens and the Free Democratic Party failed.
Yet it seems that the question of the AfD's ascension to power is a question of when rather than if. The same could be said for Marine Le Pen and the National Rally in France. If the United States can twice elect Donald Trump than anything is possible, and the possibilities aren't good. With Scholz likely to play a role in the new government, Merz will be seen as part of the old guard. As the main opposition party, the AfD can offer easy answers to complicated solutions much like Trump has done here. The only silver lining is that perhaps Elon Musk's support of AfD will prove to a liability to them as it could be down the road for Trump.
Unless the AfD comes apart from within, I'm afraid there is little to stop its ascension to power as the heirs of Hitler.
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