The Creeping Normalization of the Extreme

The republic is at a tipping point. 26 percent for the AfD is more than a statistical anomaly - it is the symptom of a fundamental shift, the scope of which we may only understand when it is too late. What is manifesting here is not simply protest behavior or temporary dissatisfaction. It is the systematic erosion of democratic foundations by a movement that has learned to exploit the weaknesses of the system for its own purposes. The mechanisms of this power shift are insidious in their subtlety. Terms like "remigration," "population replacement" or "old parties" have crept into everyday language like a virus. Even people who see themselves as democrats now unconsciously use vocabulary that just a few years ago was clearly associated with the far-right spectrum. This semantic shift is no accident - it is strategy. Whoever controls language controls thinking. Whoever controls thinking will eventually control politics.

The transatlantic resonance chamber amplifies this development. Trump has demonstrated how to destroy democratic institutions from within while simultaneously presenting oneself as their savior. His return to the White House sends a fatal signal to all those who dream of authoritarian power. If Merz is indeed already dreaming of his own chancellery, complete with a red button for ordering bratwurst, that may pass as satire - but the longing for the strong man, for clear conditions, for someone who "takes decisive action," has long since reached the middle of society.

The Complicity of the Establishment

The bitter truth is: the current black-red federal government is acting like the best campaign helper the AfD could have. After the failure of the Ampel coalition, the grand coalition had the historic chance to regain stability and trust. Instead, we are witnessing a tired rerun of the GroKo, which in its last incarnation under Merkel already drove people into the arms of populists. Merz, who wanted to present himself as a reformer, and the SPD, which actually should have gone into opposition, cling to each other like drowning people - and drag each other down in the process. The déjà vu is depressing: the same ritualized disputes, the same lack of courage, the same inability to rise above themselves. The SPD blocks itself against any reform attempt that could calm its clientele and, after all, its own job is not the worst place to be these days, the CDU/CSU blocks any policy that smells of social balance. What remains is the lowest common denominator, they just get on your nerves - and the fact is that the quality of politics is not microscopically small. And in this vacuum, right-wing populists thrive splendidly. They do not have to offer solutions - it is enough to point to the failure of others, and GroKo 2.0 delivers new evidence daily for the thesis of the "party cartel." They do not have to explain complex contexts - it is enough to name scapegoats. Migrants, the EU, the "old parties" - the arsenal of enemies is inexhaustible and can be swapped out at will.

What is lost in the process is nothing less than the country's future viability. While other nations invest in education and innovation, this government also loses itself in the administration of the status quo. The major course settings - digitalization, education reform, infrastructure modernization - remain absent, while they settle into mutual blockade. But, hey, the government now also deports people at night, and if you want to take your wheelchair with you, you can forget that real quick, brother.

The Poison of False Certainty

The paradox of our hyper-informed society, wherever the information comes from: knowledge has never been more accessible, facts have never been easier to verify, up to a certain limit at least - and yet the conviction of not knowing triumphs. But it is not a Socratic not-knowing, no intellectual humility. It is a defiant, militant not-wanting-to-know, a conscious decision against facts that do not fit the worldview, worse still, the ego-image. AfD voters are not uninformed. They have decided not to acknowledge certain realities. Climate change? An invention of the elites. The complexity of global economic cycles? Globalist propaganda. The necessity of European cooperation? Betrayal of the German people. This self-chosen ignorance is immune to arguments because it does not see itself as ignorance, but as higher insight. Foreigners? "Oh, come on, stop it" - that is simply impossible - the AfD lives in its asocial purity commandment.

Social media did not cause this development, but they have catapulted it into unknown dimensions. In the closed discourse worlds of Telegram and X, a toxic brew of half-truths, fakes, conspiracy myths and pure hatred is brewing. Algorithms, programmed for maximum viewing time, reward the extreme, the outrageous, the divisive. Those who differentiate lose. Those who polarize gain reach. The culture of discussion now actually follows the laws of martial law. There is no neutrality anymore, no gray areas, no compromises. Either you are with us or against us. Either you commit yourself to the pure doctrine or you are a traitor. This friend-enemy logic, once a hallmark of totalitarian systems, has established itself in the democratic public sphere.

The International of Authoritarians

The rise of right-wing populism follows a global pattern. From Trump's America to Orbán's Hungary to Meloni's Italy - everywhere the same mechanisms: the mobilization of fears of decline, the construction of scapegoats, the promise of a return to an imagined glorious past. "Make America Great Again" and "Germany for the Germans" are variations of the same reactionary basic motif. These movements do not see themselves as destroyers of democracy. They present themselves as its true defenders, as the voice of the "real" people against a corrupt elite. This reinterpretation is brilliant in its perfidy: the anti-democrats as democracy saviors, the dividers as unifiers, the hate preachers as truth-tellers. The reasons for their success are manifold. There is the economic insecurity caused by globalization and digitalization. There is the loss of traditional certainties in a rapidly changing world. There is the overwhelm caused by complexity, the longing for simple answers. And there is, not least, the failure of established politics to develop convincing visions for the future.

Yet all these factors do not explain the vehemence with which people radicalize. It is as if a valve has opened through which long-suppressed hatred is escaping. The thin layer of civilization, painstakingly built up over decades, is crumbling at an alarming rate.

The Point of No Return

It is five to twelve, perhaps later. With every percentage point the AfD gains, what was once unthinkable becomes normalized. With every narrative adopted, every linguistic concession, every tactical pandering by the democratic parties, the coordinate system shifts further to the right. History teaches us that democracies do not end with a big bang. They die gradually, piece by piece, compromise by compromise. First imperceptibly, then suddenly. The Weimar Republic was not destroyed in a single day. It was a process of gradual annihilation, of the normalization of the extreme, of the failure of democratic forces. The parallels are troubling. Back then there was also an economic crisis, back then the political establishment also failed, back then the bourgeois forces also underestimated the danger from the right. Back then too, they believed they could "integrate" and "disenchant" the extremists.

What remains is the realization that we are at a historic turning point. The decisions of the coming months will determine whether German democracy is robust enough to withstand this challenge. The 26 percent for the AfD is not a snapshot - it is a wake-up call. The only question is: do we still hear it, or have we already become accustomed to the alarm? The true tragedy does not lie in the strength of the right-wing populists, but in the weakness of their opponents. If the democratic forces continue to be more concerned with themselves than with defending the open society, if they continue to make the mistake of chasing after the extremists rhetorically and thematically, then the "five to twelve" will very quickly become "five past twelve." And then it will be too late to realize that democracy is not something you have, but something you must defend anew every single day.

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