In times when democracy is under attack from within, its enemies often masquerade as its guardians. Björn Höcke, ideological leader and head of the radical-right wing of the AfD, offers a ruthless self-demolition of his facade in a recent Telegram post. Such demolitions demand vigilance because they clearly reveal the danger posed by the AfD-a party claiming to speak for the people but, in reality, despising democracy.
"When the cartel of election losers conspires to manipulate because they dislike the actual voters' mandate," Höcke writes. Even this opening sentence is a masterclass in populist demagoguery. The fictional "cartel of election losers" portrays democratic coalitions broadly as sinister conspiracies. It's the same conspiratorial rhetoric Donald Trump employed to justify his "stolen election" before his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Höcke is closely following Trump's path, dangerously close to the precipice between rhetorical aggression and actual violence.
The authoritarian mindset continues: "Judges presume to correct when the 'rabble' has voted incorrectly again," Höcke claims further. Here, the democratic principle of separation of powers, seen by Orwell as a bulwark against totalitarianism, is deliberately mocked by Höcke. Courts, a pillar of democracy, are portrayed as enemies of the people. This isn't coincidental but deliberate strategy: authoritarian forces invariably attack independent judiciary first.
Höcke’s distrust of democratic institutions reaches dystopian proportions when he says, "The government also hides behind judicial robes when making unpopular decisions." The political strategy here is transparent: portray democracy as dysfunctional and the independent judiciary as a manipulative tool of a distant elite. Orwell incisively recognized such motives in "1984" as essential features of a totalitarian surveillance state. Höcke employs the same method: creating a fictional enemy against whom the people must struggle.
His international perspective reveals how deeply Höcke is entangled in conspiratorial thinking: "In the U.S., a court tried in 2023 to exclude Donald Trump from the election; last year, an election in Romania was declared invalid, and the favorite-Calin Georgescu-was excluded from the rerun election. And now, a court in France has revoked the eligibility of the leading presidential candidate-Marine Le Pen." These facts are deliberately distorted, cast as a global conspiracy, similar to Trump's narratives. Authoritarian populism sees manipulation everywhere democratic institutions merely fulfill their lawful roles.
Most dangerously, Höcke's implicit message is that democracy is ultimately redundant, an elite tool against the "true will of the people." He bluntly states: "Supranational court decisions are meant to force us to destroy our national economic foundations." Höcke invents a "supranational" threat undermining national sovereignty and identity-classic nationalist resentment, historically proven to bring calamity.
Höcke presents the AfD not as a democratic alternative but as an anti-democratic declaration of war. "They want us to believe a country no longer has the right to decide who enters its territory-citing 'European law,'" he continues. Rejecting international treaties and obligations is central to extreme-right agitation. Höcke demands isolation instead of cooperation, national self-interest instead of common European solutions.
What Höcke describes is currently occurring in the United States: the erosion of democracy, targeted attacks on judicial and other institutions, political polarization escalating into violence. If AfD voters genuinely desire this scenario, they should be mindful that consequences inevitably strike hardest against those who chose them. The concluding call for the people to have the ability to "vote out" their politics becomes cynically ironic, considering Höcke's vision of democracy involves branding dissenters as traitors and independent judiciary as illegitimate.
Höcke's contribution unmasks the AfD as an anti-democratic party that flirts with Trump's fascism and spreads conspiracy theories to manipulate the public. Anyone who attacks democratic institutions so viciously, suggests political manipulation by judges, and aligns with authoritarian leaders worldwide, forfeits democratic legitimacy.
The Bundestag must ask itself whether a party whose leading figures openly reject democracy’s foundations, like Björn Höcke, truly deserves a legitimate place in a democratic parliament. They speak in this contribution not for the people but against them. Their mask has fallen-revealing a face reminiscent of darker times, about which urgent warnings must be made.
Full comment "judicial state" by Björn Höcke from April 22, 2025
"In a time when parliamentary daily life is dominated by petty legalistic spirit, courts gain increasing importance. When the cartel of election losers conspires to manipulate because they dislike the actual voters' mandate, judges increasingly have the final say. That is their ultimate trump card since the judges who must decide were appointed by exactly those parties. However, this strategy won't work forever; with the increasing number of election defeats, even this bastion threatens to crumble. Currently, even more decision-making power is outsourced to the courts: If the AfD cannot be defeated in elections anymore, some would prefer to exclude it from elections entirely-through a party ban or at least by revoking the eligibility of particularly successful candidates under pretexts.
This is now the new trend: In the U.S., a court tried in 2023 to exclude Donald Trump from the election; last year, an election in Romania was declared invalid, and the favorite-Calin Georgescu-was excluded from the rerun election. And now, a court in France has revoked the eligibility of the leading presidential candidate-Marine Le Pen. Regardless of whether the accusations raised are justified or not: proportionality is no longer given. Because this interference with citizens' electoral options fundamentally questions the essence of democracy. Even if the involved judges sincerely intended to 'save' democracy (as government-funded media want us to believe), exactly the opposite is achieved. It is a vote of no confidence against the voter. Judges presume to correct when the 'rabble' has voted incorrectly again-and take precautions to ensure it does not happen again.
The government also hides behind judicial robes when making unpopular decisions. Major political decisions have been transferred to the EU. And even there, a court ensures the general course isn't deviated from. They want us to believe a country no longer has the right to decide who enters its territory-citing 'European law.'
Supranational court decisions are also meant to force us to destroy our national economic foundations. Those ultimately affected in everyday life-the citizens-are not even asked. Yet precisely they should always have the final say in a democracy. This cannot happen without the possibility to vote out such policies (and perhaps overly intrusive judges)."
End of Björn Höcke's fascist comment.
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