The songwriter Wolf Biermann, who was once expatriated from the GDR, sees a clear closeness between the AfD and BSW. He accuses their sympathizers of mourning the comforts of the dictatorship.
The poet and songwriter Wolf Biermann sees many similarities between the AfD and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW). “Wagenknecht and Höcke are the political bride and groom of the hour. In the former GDR, what belongs together is growing together: the heirs of Hitler’s National Socialism and Stalin’s National Communism,” Biermann told the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit” with a view to the state elections in Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia in September.
“The blue AfD and Wagenknecht’s fake reds are both on Putin’s side in this bloody war in Ukraine. Real browns and fake reds despise the rainbow colours of democracy,” said Biermann, who was expatriated from the GDR in 1976.
The former GDR dissident explained the behavior of their sympathizers: “Those who were too cowardly under the dictatorship are now rebelling against democracy without taking any risk. They lament the comforts of the dictatorship and the hardships of democracy are foreign to them.” Their shame is eroding their self-esteem. “They idealize their old lives and vote for the AfD or Sahra Wagenknecht’s new company.”
Biermann admitted that the overall picture was more nuanced: “There is no such thing as a simple Ossi, even I know that. And that is what I am hoping for now before the state elections: Many people will vote for a diverse democracy. They will vote for the CDU, SPD, Greens and FDP in a middle-class way without any angry-citizen romanticism. And that makes my old heart happy.”
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
