Opinion | Germany Has Finally Woken Up
New York TimesFeb 01
Maximilian Krah, the lead candidate for the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the EU's parliamentary election, stepped down from his party post Wednesday after remarks he made about the Nazi SS police.
The Schutzstaffel (SS) played a leading role in the Holocaust and other Nazi war crimes during World War 2. Krah had told an Italian newspaper that "You have to assess blame individually" and that not all SS members were "criminals."
Time and time again the AfD has shown the world their true face, and we ought to believe them after their umpteenth controversy over extremism. From excusing Nazi war criminals to suggesting that German citizens of foreign descent should be deported, Germany must realize that this party means what they say and intend to push a far-right agenda. Let's hope it is not too late to stop them from making huge gains this election.
German voters are less interested in the latest media-made scandal than in the utter failure of the ruling class to listen to the needs of the people. Polling for the trust that Germans have in their leaders and their optimism for the future has reached record lows, and the AfD is the only party taking those concerns seriously. The sustained popularity of the party proves that their success is due to more than mere demagoguery.