35 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall: Commissioner for Eastern Europe alarmed by AfD election success

Following the AfD’s recent electoral successes, the Eastern Commissioner Carsten Schneider is concerned. He finds the far-right party’s high share of votes in Hesse and Bavaria, but also in the eastern German states, “frightening, sobering and also alarming,” the SPD politician told the German Press Agency in Berlin.

The fact that support for the AfD was even higher in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg than in western federal states can be explained in part by the harsh changes many East Germans have experienced in the past 35 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. “But ultimately everything is based on a political decision by the population to vote for a right-wing extremist party, which certainly alarms me,” said the Thuringian.

In Saxony and Thuringia, the AfD is classified by the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution as confirmed right-wing extremist, and in Brandenburg as a suspected case of right-wing extremist.

Seek “intensive dialogue” in foreign policy

As the Federal Government’s Commissioner for East Germany, Schneider is presenting his annual report today – shortly before German Unity Day next week. It is about the growing together of East and West, but also about the ongoing differences. Among other things, the Ukraine war and the planned stationing of US medium-range missiles are viewed differently by many people in the East than in the West.

For Schneider, this is no reason to change course. “No, the federal government must make the foreign policy decision that it considers to be right in order to protect Germany and ensure stability in Europe and the world,” said the SPD politician. But the question is: “How do I explain my political decision?”

There was no foreign policy debate in East Germany when German reunification in 1990 brought with it accession to NATO and the European Union. “And I think that foreign policy must seek legitimacy in East Germany much more strongly and that those who are active there should not simply treat people condescendingly, but should make an effort to enter into an intensive dialogue and not act as if they were all wise.”

Do not convince East Germans that they are victims

According to surveys, many East Germans feel like second-class citizens. Schneider said that there are indeed still differences in wages, salaries and wealth. But that does not apply to living conditions. “I don’t believe in telling East Germans that they are victims, on the contrary. They are the ones who have empowered themselves over the last 35 years, building something out of what was left of the GDR’s economic assets and substance.”