German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said this Sunday that the rise of the far right, which polls in Germany indicate has already surpassed the Social Democratic party it leads, it is necessary to oppose “a perspective on the future” and the “question of deference”.
“We know the parties of the populist right in a bad mood from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Austria … and from here,” Scholz said in his usual summer interview with the public television channel ARD. by EFE, after being questioned about his government’s responsibility for the rise of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the polls.
“It is necessary to respond with a future perspective for our country and with the issue of respect,” the social democratic chancellor declared. And he pointed out that given the changes currently going through, citizens should have “the assurance that there is a good future” for them and their grandchildren.
He also referred to the principle of respect, which means that “everyone who contributes to society” should be able to “make decisions about their life” without feeling bad or being discriminated against.
Scholz acknowledged that it would have been better to avoid the recent disagreements in the coalition that brings together Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals in government, to which many analysts attribute the AfD’s growth in the polls.
The chancellor compared the coalition government to a family and underlined the need for compromises to counter accusations of lack of leadership.
For Scholz, the rise of the far right owes more to global dynamics, stressing that polls in other European countries do not show results “very different” from those in Germany.
He defended the practice of a “sanitary cordon” regarding the AfD where, he said, there are “many far-right positions” so that democratic parties “cannot and should not” cooperate with it.
Regarding the recent election of a regional AfD governor in Sonneberg, Thuringia, he said he did not believe the open impeachment process would be successful, stating that anyone who defends far-right ideologies cannot be a public servant because he has an unconstitutional ideology has. , not because he belongs to any particular party, he clarified.
According to a poll published by the public channel ZDF on Friday, the CDU, which is currently in the opposition, would be the winner with 28% of the vote if the elections were held today, followed by the AfD (19%) and the SPD, with 18%.
It would be the highest percentage for the AfD since its formation 10 years ago. The polls also show that satisfaction with the government is at its lowest level since the start of the legislature in September 2021, with an approval rating of 39%.
Source: DN
