Let's Talk About The German Political Situation...

[@NALFVLOGS]

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[@johncmordan]

I am a Dominican immigrant living in the USA, specifically in New Jersey. My wife, who is Black, is from the Bronx. I feel the need to preface my comments by stating this because I know some people might call me racist for what I’m about to say. Many white people seem to believe that we all share the same values and that the only difference among us is the color of our skin. White guilt, in part, stems from the fact that they acknowledge their ancestors did to others what many of us-Browns and Blacks-have also done in the past. I see movements in both America and Europe aimed at welcoming as many people as possible from different parts of the globe. The purpose of this isn’t entirely clear to me. Some say it’s because there’s a need for more workers, while others suggest it’s part of a plan to use us as soldiers if a conflict with China arises. I’m not sure what the ultimate goal is, but one thing I do know is that importing millions of people changes society. If we bring in millions from China, the place becomes more like China. If we bring in millions from Korea, the place becomes more like Korea. If we bring in millions from India, the place becomes more like India. The same applies when we import millions from Africa-the place becomes more like Africa. So the question is: which country do you want to be like? The choice is yours.

[@kaibroeking9968]

@@johncmordan Historically, Prussia, of all places, was always an immigration country. Initially, it had lost 2/3 of its population in the Thirty Years War and could only recover by the immigration of the Huguenots forced away by Louis XIV. In the 19th century, a lot of Polish workers moved to the Ruhr area and Italians to the southern German state of Baden. They helped to build the railways, and worked in mining and heavy industry during the industrialization. A century later, the economic miracle after the Second World War could not have been possible without immigration from Turkey, Portugal, Southern Italy, Yugoslavia, Spain and Greece. This is why there is a positive disposition towards immigration in wider parts of the country. People assimilate, adapt, learn to live with each other. It has always been like this in Central Europe, from the Roman Empire throughout the Migration Period, the Middle Ages and the Modern Era to the present day. There is a famous quotation by Frederick the Great about immigration and tolerance: "Even if the Turks and Heathens came and wished to populate the country, I would build Mosques and Temples for them. Here, everyone must find his salvation in his own way."

[@johncmordan]

@@kaibroeking9968 How is it going with the Africans?

[@haraldontour]

@@kaibroeking9968 Yes, but assimilation is a NAZI word now. Even the request for integration as a smell now.

[@ernstfischer8976]

@@johncmordan how about an equal amount of immigrants from all the nations . that is certainly not the case right now. I’m Canadian and if you look at the chart you can see it.

[@admiraljodix4725]

Thanks for such a balanced take, it's rare to see and it's even nicer to see that the issues or possible reasons for people voting for these parties isn't demonized for once.

[@blaumupi]

Sorry, but anyone who votes for Nazi parties (and that is the AfD especially in Thuringia!) or the BSW only proves that he is an extremist or has lost his political mind! AfD and BSW offer no solutions, only slogans. Ideal for people who can't or don't want to understand our complex world.

[@einherjar4902]

1930 is literally repeating itself. It even started in thüringen back then for the NSDAP. also about 30% and if you look at papers from that time you even see almost the same justifications and downplaying of the old parties. The overlaps are insane which makes it really scary. For me, afd voters are useful idiots at best and fascists at worst

[@Orbitalbomb]

Yeah let's not demonize the Nazi parties that want kill all muslims and Jews aswell, as they admire what Hitler did in the 1930s. Let's not demonize literal misanthropes. Let's vote for them and then after another world war for dominance of the white race, cry and suffer for another time. Nothing learned from history.

[@susannesonnenschein2878]

I think as a German you have to demonice the AFD. It is a racist party and everyone who votes for them. They know this exactly.

[@thevikingsock8527]

Balanced take? There is no balance with Naz*s

[@sekborg5757]

This video is way better balanced than I expected. I wasn't expecting an unbalanced video based on you as a person, but based on the political news in germany during the last few weeks. As always: fantastic video

[@Rambo4President]

I was born in Germany and have been living here ever since (Frankfurt area). Let me tell you, every day there are stabbings now. The people have had enough! I am 100% of Turkish heritage, my grandfather was one of the first Turkish workers coming in the 60s. So I am the first generation that was actually born here. I identify as German and while still the majority of Afghans, Syrians and so on are nice people who don’t do any harm, those who do really shift the view and opinions. Also, our chancellor who is famous for his missing memory, is considered anti Germany. They have all the money for wars, refugees and other stuff, but our retired people who have build Germany after WW2 have to collect bottles (25 cent each) because they don’t get enough pension even though they have worked for 50 years!!!

[@jakobuchiha9906]

Yes. And the sad but understandable consequence of all those migrants that don't integrate is that the few people of Turkish origin identifying as German and that are like every other German get also a lot of hate because they have similar names or looks of those not integrating. I mean there is basically no rejection against (east) asians because there is no group with similar names/looks that are not integrating. So I think if we would stop mass migration of these people and turning most of them back to their countries(if possible), well integrated people of Turkish origin for example would be far more accepted.

[@topi3146]

So, some wild mix of arguments. For your last point. Is the retirement system broken? Yes, it is and has been even before the refugees arrived. All the parties are failing at fixing it, but so far I have not heard any proposal from the AFD that would work. The financial gap in the retirement plans is much bigger than the money we are spending on refugees. For your statement that the are stabbings every day now, I would also love to see some statistics. That you mention Afghans and Syrians in the next sentence also makes my belief that you are hinting at the fact that these stabbings are done by refugees. Again, I would like to see some proof for that. About your statement that Scholz is a bad chancellor. Yes, I agree.

[@FrankBuchholz-d5z]

I find it interesting that even imigrant families turn right these days and ask for more regulation. Do you know of people with Turkish descent who actually vote AfD?

[@jakobuchiha9906]

@@topi3146 Even if the retirement collapses(which would be bad) we could rebuild our country like we did before. We would still be German. But with too much migration, this German identity will vanish. That's the worst case in my opinion. To your statement that you want to see a proof that stabbings(or crimes like murder etc. which I suppose you meant too) are done by refugees, there is no direct proof since the government doesn't have an interest to show these numbers as they are pro migration and refugees BUT the PKS shows the foreign suspect numbers and there, foreigners are overrepresented by several 100% compared to Germans in crimes like murder. Since I believe that Ukrainians are far less "murderous" than foreigners from south countries(look in the news) and since alone last year many foreigners from countries like syria received German citizenship and are therefore counting as German in the PKS, the numbers would be in reality far higher than they already are.

[@Schnorzel1337]

​@@topi3146 The problem with the retirement system it is broken beyond repair. But the parties promised us that new immigration will reduce the pains. You know the meme about rocket engineers and doctors and that they are better than gold, germany got a gift" and so on. While we know from the netherlands and denmark that a migrant from the arabic or african continent will on average cost the taxpayer 250€k over their lifetime. And that is if they came when they where 18. It cost more and more if they come earlier (school and education to pay) or later (less work years). On average a 45 year old afghan is not paying more taxes than they get wellfare. So in conclusion we have a bad system and we made it worse by importing more people that need money. The statistics are not well documented, as knife crime is not part of the official statistics. But you can google for example "Messergewalt Berlin" and find that there are 10 knive attacks in berlin alone per day. Or check this: www.rbb24.de/panorama/beitrag/2023/03/berlin-messerangriff-polizei-gewalt.html

[@johnmills9360]

My adult children left South Africa 3 years ago for a safer , crime free Germany . They are thriving job wise , but I think the events in Solingen were worrisome for them . They lived in Solingen for their first year and have since moved not too far away .I was there for a month in April , and was aware of the demographics of the area , especially on the trains where German is less often spoken. I worked for Siemens in the 90's and the difference to now is vast. I empathise with the Germans wanting to return to traditional values like a social contract that has responsibilities as well as benefits for sustainability.

[@sns4748]

Germany is still extremely safe in general but it’s heading in a wrong direction and we have to stop that

[@Blackstaralpha]

'I empathise with the Germans wanting to return to traditional values' What does that even mean?

[@Phyt5]

What are traditional values? Countries used to have slavery, would that be a good traditional value to return to?

[@ElAmokoLoco]

@@Phyt5 In your specific case, yes. But only if you were the slave, some people might suggest.

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

What kind of traditional values should that be? In a sense the refugees that come here do have way stronger traditional values, than the average german. God above all, women back in the house, submitting to the will of the man. That's as traditional as you can get. Is that the kind of traditional values you had in mind?

[@Peter_Cetera]

It's not that the AfD is so great, it's that the traditional parties are failing so badly

[@imrehundertwasser7094]

Voting for the AfD is about the only thing that will still get the attention of the Greens or SPD. But apparently it's still not enough, and my prognosis is that none of the major problems Germany has (failing economy because of the climate fetish; too many migrants, illegal or otherwise, overloading the system; too many violent criminals, also mostly migrants , killing and injuring people; authoritarian Green and SPD politicians like the interior minister suppressing free speech, and so on ...) will be solved. Which means the AfD will receive even more votes.

[@ExTern-nl4ov]

Its not that they failing so badly. Its that people have the feeling they are failing. If asked - noone can say what they should have made differently.

[@imrehundertwasser7094]

Voting for the AfD is about the only thing that will still get the attention of the Greens or SPD. But apparently it's still not enough. I don't think any of the country's pressing problems will be solved, so the AfD will only get stronger still.

[@axelotl86]

False narratives. Objectively the current government is doing a pretty good job during a crisis. Communication wise they are pretty bad. But the AfD and BSW are just surfing on a wave of fear they created. The AfD is a fascist party. Voting for them to show the current government disdain is as intelligent as a MAGA idiot.

[@dodumichalcevski]

​@@ExTern-nl4ov What 😂😂 They are failing at EVERYTHING

[@Rouricht]

Its not that hard to explain this results: 1. Germans are not nazis and don't strive for rassism. Only a few non relevant numbers here are still nazis (In the USA are more than in germany btw) 2. Our political system is democratic and while it's true that we can vote as we like, the most parteys just pretty much alligned their ambitions in similar ways, so you CAN vote but it does not differ that much who, since there are no parteys, which represent what a lot of germans want at the moment. (Point 3) 3. Education, wealth, being safe in the public at night, culture etc. are endangered by the bad management of refugees. We are not against them, to put it simple: We cannot pay for them anymore. We have no money left to feed and care for them. It's just not possible. (Our goverment also tried to manipulate the numbers in our yearly finances because they did not wanted to tell the people that we are broke and wanted to continiue with their not working politics.) 4. A LOT of people vote for the AfD, not because they are nazis but pretty much have no other choice. We basicly don't want the AfD to lead germany, we just don't have any other possibility to show the goverment that we are tired of all this same bullshit again and again happening the last 20 years. Our country does not have any more money left. Schools are not working, Living spaces are too expensive which forces people on the streets. Food became too expensive. Yes. I am talking about germany, not some third base country daily stuff.

[@TT-Freak]

There is less than 1 % refugees in Germany. All others are migrants and most even illegally coming. They get rewarded for it with money , thus more are going to come each year. Voting for AfD is self defence and I defenitely do want them in power, because there won't be change with the estaablished parties. The latter wil continue to lie to us and do what benefits them and not the people. They never did anything else, so why change now?

[@victoria_x00]

Does that mean that good immigrants can stay in Germany?. I’m asking this because as a Greek I love Germany and I’m planning to to study and live there.If I’m not problem can I stay?

[@Rouricht]

​@@victoria_x00 Yeah sure :D

[@JoshuaWeigl]

​@@victoria_x00Of course! I know many AfD Voters and listened to hours of speeches from AfD Politicians and I've never heard anybody criticizing immigrants that work or study in Germany and act like civilized people that respect german laws and rules as well as our culture. The critique is always about illegal and criminal, mostly arabic immigrants that don't work and commit crimes. Anybody else is always welcome and that wouldn't change if the AfD would be the leading party. As someone who read any single page of their program and listened to many of their politicians it's absolutely unexplainable to me how people come up with those "right extreme" or "naz1" terms. Not a single widely known person in that party has ever said anything like that. There are thousands of people from all countries around the world that are working or studying here and the AfD has never said anything negative about them because there is nothing to be criticized. So as long as you come to Germany to work or study, respect the country and act like a normal person no one cares about where you come from.

[@yannrheiner]

@@JoshuaWeigl you're talking about "good" and "bad" immigrants while the afd is talking remigration of people born in germany, but their parents or grands-parents are not german. the afd wants a völkisch germany, there is no good immigrants in their point of view. Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten, habe ich geschwiegen, ich war ja kein Kommunist. Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten, habe ich geschwiegen, ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat. Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten, habe ich geschwiegen, ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter. Als sie mich holten, gab es keinen mehr, der protestieren konnte.

[@Spacemarine81]

You forgot to mention two important points in your video: the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine. 2-3 years after the refugee crisis of 2015, the AfD had lost voters again, but gained support from critics of COVID policies. However, the largest increase in support came with the war in Ukraine. Before the war, the German economy was extremely dependent on Russian gas, which had to be quickly replaced. Additionally, another 1 million refugees from Ukraine came to Germany, and Germany is also the second-largest financial supporter of Ukraine after the USA. All of this had significant effects on the German economy. Both the AfD and the BSW are very critical of the aid provided to Ukraine. Furthermore, the relationship with Russia differs greatly between East and West Germany, which is also a reason why these two parties are much more successful in East Germany.

[@xaverlustig3581]

+1 thank you

[@Stephanie-es7wv]

But that's exactly what I don't understand. People of the former GDR fought to be independent from the Russian regime back then. They wanted to be a real democracy and not a dictatorship. And now they are pro Russia and pro Putin? It seems like they forgot how the Russians treated them. Btw I'm from Saxony. My mom has friends and acquaintances that are AfD voters and express their hate for Ukraine and their support of Putin. She regularly tells me about the arguments she has with them and the absolute wild theories they tell her. They believe every sh*t they find on social media and don't even recognise the lacking logic of their theories.

[@xaverlustig3581]

@@Stephanie-es7wv People in East Germany got rid of the communist dictatorship, but they don't hate Russia as a country. Russia is a great nation and has wonderful people, even if their current regime is also a dictatorship. We shouldn't hate a country even if their current politics are at odds with ours. Critics of western armament used to say that during the cold war and were accused of being "pro Russian" just as today. That said neither Afd nor BSW are "pro Russian" nor "pro Putin". That's complete nonsense.

[@Spacemarine81]

@@Stephanie-es7wv I was raised in West-Germany, i don't understand it either. I think it is not so much about pro russian but more about deep rooted antipathy for USA/Nato influence. Both AfD and BSW politics are more about triggering emotions than about logic.

[@jayhill2193]

@@xaverlustig3581 Thing is you can't negiotiate with Putin as he respects nothing else than sheer force. We tried 20 years of coexistence, peace through economic ties even throughout the illegal annexation of the Crimea. Putin has never and will never accept our ideals of human rights, internation rights and our world order, he wants the Russian empire back in one form or another. Give him your pinky he will take your whole arm. The only way forward is, exactly like back in 1939, through the utter military defeat of the regime and a rigorous change of regime, thorough democritization as was done by the Allies in West Germany after the end of the war. Russia tried to democritize itself after the fall of the Soviet Union, it worked for 3 years but like the Weimar Republic was short-lived and it's obvious that external help is necessary.

[@thomasbartzick7372]

Well done! Great analysis! Most regards from NRW! 🙂

[@senormatzy498]

True! Best regards from Leipzig 🙂

[@usbxg3474]

In my opinion its a bit to lazy! It´s like "You have to listen to the MAGA Cult" people or the "flat earthers", because they have feelings and opinions Too!

[@thomasbartzick7372]

@@usbxg3474 Well, I think, that's not, what Nick has really intended to tell us. It's more, that we have to understand reasons, why do people vote for these extremists! Then, we can find strategies to convince these people back to democratic center parties again.

[@luke66394]

More nutral and down to base analisis than our forced pay Television 👍

[@crazygermanviper]

I really like you man. Cool dude, very authentic. Good content. Very well thought through and articulated. Like it

[@1958zed]

My grandparents emigrated to the US from Germany, and I've always been interested in our family history and Germany in general. I've even looked into applying for dual German citizenship by descent, so I've become more interested in the politics of Germany lately. I appreciate the effort that went into making this video and how you presented the information. However, it might have been helpful, especially for Americans, if you highlighted a bit more about how governing works in Germany. In America's essentially two-party system, the winning party gets to govern whether or not they actually win a majority (see extremely gerrymandered states like Wisconsin and North Carolina). But, as I understand it from my early reading, Germany has a multi-party system and seats in the state and federal parliament are proportionally allocated by the number of votes each party receives. That means that even though the AfD won a plurality of votes (32.8%) in Thuringia that doesn't mean that they automatically control the state parliament. The other parties also won seats and, without any party winning a clear majority, it's up to the parties to negotiate and form a governing coalition, where multiple parties band together to have a majority. Even so, the AfD, as I understand it, with one-third of the seats in parliament will be in a position to block proposals put forward in the parliament making governing more challenging. Again, this is my interpretation of German governance as a newbie based on what I've learned so far. If I am wrong in anything that I've said, please let me know, as I want to learn more about the topic.

[@jayhill2193]

that is exactly right. The thing is, every party has expressed their deliberate unwillingness to coalesce with the AfD, making them a true pariah party. Because of this situation, Thuringia's last government was a minority government, meaning a coalition between many parties that got no majority vote to ultimately gain a majority. That was a disaster and it's gonna be interesting to see the negotiations this time around. Saxony had a stronger government, but is caught in the same dilemma now too. The old parties have shown little interest to coalesce with the BSW but as far as I know, no one has explicitely rejected the idea. In any way, people by far and wide are largely disinfrenchised with the political system, which draws a parallel to the USA I guess, which goes to show that more parties doesn't automatically fix everything if all parties equally suck.

[@xornxenophon3652]

Please take note that this was not a national election but one in two states. So the effects on a national level are rather small. Many people in Germany are simply fed up with listening to endless explanations why they will have to adopt to shootings, bombs and knife-attacks by illegal immigrants as well as rising costs for feeding an evergrowing mass of people from muslimic countries who do not make the effort to adapt to our culture, learn the language and get a job. That is why they vote for AfD, to finally get some reaction from the national government.

[@michaelburggraf2822]

With a third of the seats in the state parliament of Thuringia the AfD can block some decisions which require a majority of 2/3 of the votes. That affects for example changes to the constitution of the state of Thuringia. Many other matters just require an absolute majority, I.e. more than 50% of the votes.

[@AliceOnTrains]

I live in Thüringen and seeing AfD win is still a punch to the face for me

[@defekteeinheit6189]

@@AliceOnTrainsgibt schlimmeres, der kommt ja eh nicht an die Macht

[@abrakadaver7495]

Expected a lecture, found a fair overview.

[@LeonardoPisano-sn2lp]

AfD is the only answer everyone else is insane

[@itsraining3000]

Hey man, I just wanted to say: Love your videos. As a filmmaker, I appreciate not just the content, but your craft. Your framing, the storytelling, and editing, is so much better than most of the other KZbinrs reviewing Germany out there. It's a very enjoyable watch.

[@XY-uc1tw]

As long as illegal migration continues, there is no solution to Germany's problem. Different from the US, Germany has social state. You can not have open borders and a social state at the same time....

[@Der_Sultan_Dresdens]

Don't say this or you will be accused of being a "national socialist" because it contradicts the reigning parties.

[@ERH-ph5gb]

You can have it. Look at Denmark. They have open borders but a strict policy on well fare. Which is only for their own citizens.

[@janmo519]

​@@ERH-ph5gbne haben sie eben nicht mehr. Die dänischen Sozialdemokraten haben eine strikte anti Migrationspolitik und das Ghettogesetz verabschiedet um der illegalen Migration her zu werden. Seitdem man die ganzen Pullfaktoren abgeschafft hat, abschiebt und die Leute zwingt Dänisch zu lernen, hat sich das Thema illegale Migration erledigt.

[@ronaldderooij1774]

Your premise is that immigrants cost the state money. I don't think so. Yes, many do, but overwhelmingly they will to live a normal life and thus pay taxes. I see the first years where they cost money after arrival as an investment into the compensation for low birth rate in Germany (and Europe). The deeper problem is the low birth rate of Europeans, which has many causes and is very complex (but unwanted).

[@Der_Sultan_Dresdens]

@@ronaldderooij1774 I tend to disagree. I can only speak from experience. Mabye you have statiatics, and yes it may also vary across the Bundesländer (states), but when I f.ex. return from work, I only see migrants returning from water and amusement parks while I was at work earning money. I work and pay taxes for them too. And not too little. Of course, I know migrants who came here and work like I do. There is no doubt. But something has to be done against such people who are lazy and depend on the heavy taxes for them. (+ Add a bit more in support of Ukraine, when by the way Selensky is meeting Scholz in a four-eye-conversation at Rammstein base again, begging for more money and weapons. We can only speculate about the outcome but Scholz is certainly not the one who could deny Selensky a lot. Idk why mabye because of Germany's task to compensate for the past World Wars. But as I say, it remains speculative regarding this.)

[@mitasol3864]

Thanks, Nalf I am flattered and astouned by your interest and insight in the complex political situation in our country. These are difficult times and I am grateful for every unbiased view on these very critical themes

[@annoth23]

Thank you Nick for covering this topic. I'm German and I agree with you on most of your conclusions. Good to have you here with us in Germany :)

[@tomorrowneverdies567]

Here in Greece where I live, I am afraid to express my thoughts to certain people, such as my boss, because I am afraid they will fire me. Not very democratic...

[@MarkusPape]

europe is not democratic anymore the eu is more like the sowjet union

[@tomorrowneverdies567]

@@MarkusPape But how is the EU like the Soviet Union exactly? I believe that it is the governments of Europe who are simply very undemocratic.

[@MarkusPape]

@@tomorrowneverdies567 In a real Democratic System every vote is equal and the justice system is equal for everyone. If this woul be a reality someone like Ursula would never be the Head of the union especialy more likely in prison for the act of destroying actively documantation and man more things. Or the example of Victor Orban

[@marcogerner132]

@@MarkusPape Ich habe wohl nicht mitbekommen, das hier ganze Bevölkerungsschichten mit Gewalt umgesiedelt oder in Lager gesperrt wurden. Die Sowjetunion war ein ganz anderes Kaliber, als es die EU jemals werden könnte.

[@Wolf-ln1ml]

Protection for employees isn't _directly_ an issue of democracy... It does become one when you look at the bigger picture of the economic system - there are _extremely_ few democratic structures in the corporate world, if there were (which is nearly impossible in a capitalist system), your fear would be a thing of the past...

[@andreasklein1976]

Superb analysis! :) You just nailed it NALF!

[@johnlabus7359]

I was in Germany in 2015 and saw the unhappiness with the refugee situation on an S Bahn train. I was in a train car with a group of refugees and at each stop, other passengers about to step into the car, would see them and would they'd leave to go into another car. I saw this happen at each stop. It wasn't until they left that I witnessed other passengers use the car I was in.

[@denisesofagirls200]

Old people are afraid of every "strange" situation. They are afraid of modern fashion and culture, as well as foreign ones. This is because of centuries of isolation in DDR or rural areas. It will vanish with the next generation appearing.

[@K__a__M__I]

How could you tell they were refugees?

[@silkegehtyoutubegarnichtsa892]

@@K__a__M__I Men non-stop talking in super loud voices on cell-phones, blocking doorway just because they're unaware they're aren't alone in that given situation, carelessly crossing railtracks because a. they can't find the proper path b. there's no train in sight after all, chill out, socks and sandals in summer (just when all the Germans who did are not to be found on train stations anymoe, no socks and slippers in winter. ... And, I'd rather cut my hand off before I'd vote AfD and/or BSW, just saying. ...

[@YungDikson]

@@K__a__M__I probably the stench and the fact they look like sand people

[@klarasee806]

Interesting. Where in Germany was that? I go by tram almost every day and I have never experienced such a thing. Not even at the peak of the “refugee crisis". Yes, there are certainly people in Germany who would go into an other car, but that’s very rare, at least where I live. Also, many of those who have problems with refugees would not leave the car because of that. People usually don’t fear (individual) refugees, it’s more of a fear of changes in this country because of refugees. Towards individuals, you usually see hate, aggression and anger, but fear that would lead people to leave the car is really, really rare. Are you sure there was no other reason for them to go into another car? Maybe there was some kind of strong unpleasant smell in the car that you might not have noticed? That happens from time to time. Either way, there was and is hate in Germany because we let “too many” refugees in. I, a 50 year old woman, even got kicked off my bicycle by a stranger just because my shopping bag had "Refugees welcome" written on it. None of my friends and family wanted to be believe me, especially because I live in a quite sophisticated and left leaning area, but… yeah, interesting times. So I won’t go so far to say that you must have misinterpreted the situation, but the same thing at every station because of a few refugees… I really doubt it. Also, as someone else has already asked: how did you know that they were refugees? And how did the other passengers know?

[@nadinebeck2069]

Hey Nick, I've shown the video to my 13 year old son. He will tell his teacher about this great chart about the authoritarian, liberal, left and right politcal spectrum. Thank you for sharing. Young people will listen to you.

[@kruesae22]

The Nolan diagram is bit more interesting.

[@gunnarsteinseifer1267]

Hello NALF, perhaps you can make a comparison of the political positions in Germany and the USA. I am sure that positions that are seen as center-right in Germany would be seen as very far on the left spectrum in the USA.

[@ExTern-nl4ov]

Waffen, Krankenversicherung und wirtschafts narrenfreiheit - das. Bei den meisten anderen sachen sind die Demokraten mit der CDU gleichzustellen.

[@ScharfesS]

Na, right wing CDU is roughly equivalent with centrist democrats.

[@GustafGouda]

Biden, Harris, Sanders and AOC are certainly more left-wing than Scholz or Schröder ever were.

[@noweebatall5520]

Nah, the people they call Nazis here are basically republicans

[@SoGo949]

@@ScharfesS Ne, sorry, die Shitshow, die die CDU seit einiger Zeit abliefert, ist genau das, was in den USA die Republikaner verkörpern. Merz ist kaum noch von Trump zu unterscheiden - lügen und hetzen, sonst kann Fritze nix.

[@rewboss]

I've always advocated empathy, debate, and taking people's problems seriously. Unfortunately, whenever I do, the loudest voices belong to those who just start telling me that I'm nothing but a Nazi apologist. Apparently, everyone who votes even once for AfD is a xenophobic Nazi and will always be a xenophobic Nazi, so they must be ostracized and resisted so that they won't be "emboldened" to say or do anything. The second-loudest voices, of course, come from the people who tell me that the AfD isn't "extreme" right, how could I dare say such a thing, it's what the CDU used to be before Merkel turned it "woke", the AfD stands for true democracy, law and order, and all the stuff I've heard about them is MSM lies. I have a bad feeling about this...

[@NALFVLOGS]

thanks for the comment Rewboss, you’ve got a great channel.

[@fbahr]

To put things into some perspective: Thuringia + Saxony make about 7.5% of the population of the FRG (in comparison, Tex[i]ans make 9% of the US population). Nevertheless, things are _not_ looking great in good ol' Germany right now... for various reasons... and I am not confident w.r.t. the direction we are heading.

[@denisesofagirls200]

Endlich sagt's mal einer! Danke rewboss!

[@denisesofagirls200]

@@fbahr Machen Sie sich mal frei von der Knechtschaft! Die Regierung ist nicht verantwortlich für die Probleme, sondern Abzocker und Bonzen. Dörfer und Kommunen wachsen und Prosperieren durch Zusammenhalt, Gastfreundschaft und Weltoffenheit. So ist das hierzulande schon seit der Antike. Hetze und Lüge wird untergehen, Einigkeit Recht und "Brüderlichkeit" können dagegen mehr als 3 Generationen bestehen. Hören Sie nicht auf die Hetzer und Spalter, mit ihren Lügen.

[@Woopidie]

This is so disingenuous

[@kamilziemian995]

I'm from Poland, my country suffered a lot by the hand of III Reich. And I must to say, looking at Germany I can't blame people that vote for AfD just to tell CDU/CSU, SPD, etc., how they don't like them. Because, if I was a German, I may be doing the same thing.

[@tomorrowneverdies567]

I'm from Greece, and I do not see any difference between the AfD and CDU/CSU, SPD. Especially in immigr.

[@go_rongor5975]

@@tomorrowneverdies567 The difference is CDU/CSU and SPD are politically correct and AfD isn't. Traditional parties never intended to share their power with a new party. So whatever can be stigmatized as remotely right'ish is being used to frame anyone as being outside of democratic intentions. This way the traditional parties don't have to put any efforts into actual engaging on topics with opposition, they simply declare them Nazi and this effectively outlaws the political opponent entirely. Only this doesn't work anymore so well. The AfD just doesn't care and uses free speech to the fullest. And people also start to not care for the framing anymore and still vote for AfD, no matter how extremists and allegedly Nazi the AfD is. CDU/CSU and SPD are struggling since decades to develop common sense rules for safe immigration which takes into account the worries of many people. Now they slowly start to consider and are claim to develop law adaptations. Only the AfD is demanding this since long times now, so the traditional parties have lost any credibility, basically admitting that the AfD had a point all these years. There certainly are extremist guys among the ranks of the AfD but this doesn't make them Nazi. Nazi has become a cheap insult. Most people seem to forget what Nazis originally stood for.

[@marvin2678]

@@tomorrowneverdies567 what exactly do you mean lol????

[@marvin2678]

whats your man reason ? immigration?

[@BitZapple]

What CDU/CSU/SPD/Greens etc. have done and still are doing to the demographics of this country is very much extreme and needs to stop. The AfD is also the only party advocating for a European peace deal. All the other parties want to keep fueling the war, prolonging the exodus of Eastern Europe in favor of Blackrock. BSW is very obviously not to be trusted at all and barely relevant even in the east.

[@texasgirl9604]

NALF ~ You are an eloquent speaker! Very well thought out & explained in a short video!

[@rezo6212]

In some respects, the AfD can be compared to the Republicans in America. I would describe Trump as much more radical than Höcke or other AfD politicians. Right-wing parties are getting stronger all over Europe and that shouldn't surprise anyone .

[@ernstfischer8976]

@@rezo6212 well said!

[@thorstenvogt6561]

Only when Trump uses Nazi-like rhetoric (immigrants are poisoning the blood of the country etc), you can possibly excuse it with ignorance. When Höcke, a former history teacher, uses Nazi slogans, it’s pretty clear that he knows exactly what he is doing, and does it on purpose.

[@marcromain64]

The AfD and the Republicans cannot be completely or completely superimposed on one another. Because there are only two parties in the US, the range of political currents and interests they represent is much broader and sometimes contradictory within the party to the point of absurdity. The Republican Party can best be compared to a coalition of the CDU, AfD and FDP, and the Democrats to a coalition of the CDU, FDP and a tiny fraction of the SPD. What we consider to be center or even center-left is considered hard left in the US by both Republicans and Democrats, and even the "most left-wing" representative Bernie Sanders, would at best be a strongly socially minded CDU man here.

[@DarklordDE]

Sorry but i don't think so. If you want an President like Höcke you have to ask the Leader of KKK or Arian Brotherhood to become President. Höcke is by far more Nazi the Trump. One thing they have in common that both see a Judge lately.

[@jgarland3581]

Trump is radical 😂

[@olsonskywalker8215]

Best video on this topic, I've seen in a long time.

[@retirementbudgettravel699]

Touché! Your video was spot on!! Thank you!

[@Earlywinters09]

I appreciate you sharing your views on German politics. Food for thought!

[@susannabonke8552]

"Nalf's philosophical corner"

[@sandrag8656]

I'm german and I'm always interested in the world's view on our politics. Thanks for sharing your precise description. I agree with most parts. For me there are some points missing: - During Covid it became obvious, that main stream media isn't objective, but only selling what our government wants them to sell, and that our government isn't honest and playing tricks on us. Even the RKI was advising what our government told them. AFD and Sahra Wagenknecht were the only ones who dared to criticise. And the way they were treated was really ugly. People in east of Germany are much more critical towards msm and governments in general. They sensed the attempt of government to become more and more totallitarian very early, and they don't want this to happen again. Even for me (from west of Germany) it's obvious now. Our msm (paid by left- green government) has become WAY to one sided. All fear to loose their jobs if not following political narrative. People don't dare to tell their opposing points of views, because they fear to be called far right, nazi or Putin-supporter. All msm increased frightening people with anti-AFD propaganda after this huge success. It's really bad. People are sick of these attempts of manipulation and they fear loosing their rights of free speech and to decide on their own. Besides huge immigration problems and economic problems this developement is the most important reason to vote for AFD (and BSW.)

[@LordKosmos]

Very good video on the complex situation of German politics. Also my 5 €uro cent to this: The established parties fail once and again to really communicate with the people out there. This does not mean that all they do is bad and detrimental to us but they cannot reach the bulk of the base voters anymore. Some are either too arrogant and self-centered, than to recognize fears and needs of the people and other cannot get into contact on a community level, to relay those decisions and hear the needs. This is a problem for all sides by the way and made it very easy for populist parties to claim "easy" answers to complex problems. People feel there is a need of change and there is of course. But the radical change those parties stand for will be even worse than the current status. The ruling government had and has to give more insight, be more transparent in their doing and why something they do is better (in their eyes) than another thing. People are not too dumb to listen but if all they hear is endless chatter amongst themselves (the parties), they cannot understand what is going on and are left alone. That they did not do so, made many voters even more fearful of the future and loose faith in the government and the conservative opposition. Also, instead of looking forward and fixing this communication barrier, they again are only fixated on each other, oh how this could ever happen, and everyone is at fault but the own actions. This also includes the opposition, which only points fingers around as well. I really do hope, they can refocus on the matters that are important again, try to do better and finally communicate with the people again. It is so important right now. Being there, talking and showing that they exist with and not above the rest. Now is the time, before no one will listen anymore.

[@claudiaretief464]

Hi, I’m new to your channel. I’m German. I love the reflection on our nation from your side. It really makes me think about us as a nation. I am curious myself on the the development on German politics. I think you summoned it up quite nicely. On another note: How about a session on the Germans anxiety on if something is allowed to do or not. On the same subject, all those signs for restrictions? Have you noticed it yourself yet?

[@renewietasch3990]

Political Right isn´t the same as extremly right ... the People in Germany get confused by this thanks to the media

[@extra_tof]

And who you think isnt extreme right? Afd? Than you are wrong

[@renewietasch3990]

@@extra_tof why i am wrong? did you read her political guidlines? no? you should do it and than we can talk so you could teach me where the afd is extreme right... and thank you for telling me that i naild it with my post because you cant understand the difference from beeing political right and extreme right too

[@tehweh8202]

Parts of the AfD are "gesichert rechtsextrem" (undeniably extreme right). That means they are considered an active threat to democracy by the German constitutional protection agency. Bernd Höcke has been deemed a Fascist by a legal court. The AfD has worked closely with PEGIDA - another organisation that is considered "gesichert rechtsextrem" and is facing serious legal charges. Gauland considers the atrocities of WW2 Germany as "bid droppings" in the context of history. And that's not even mentioning the 2023 Potsdam meeting to discuss ethnic cleansing in Germany, that included senior AfD figures. The AfD is at least partially extreme right, and that's a fact.

[@yannrheiner]

@@renewietasch3990 we are talking about people like Krah, top candidate for the AfD during the europe elections who says "not all SS were criminals" and Höcke, top candidate for the AfD in Thüringen, that can legally be branded as fascist and lost trials for the use of nazi-motto...

[@renewietasch3990]

No, we talked about the fact that, thanks to the media, people see the political right as right-wing extremists and, in turn, thanks to the media, the AfD is labeled as right-wing extremist. We didn't talk about individual politicians where some said stupid things, in the case of Krah, for example AFD also reacted sensibly and correctly and as far as Höcke is concerned it is ridiculous to seriously label "alles für Deutschland"( everything for Germany) as a Nazi motto. You can say a random sentence with the few words in it and you are a Nazi? Nothing the AfD has in its election program is right-wing extremist, yet it is repeatedly labeled as such.

[@coellnbrueder8879]

I am very positively surprised by your prosaic, well-considered classification! The years in Germany seem to have done your large scale thinking a good service too. Good for you, please do continue.

[@whiteknight3255]

Congrats, very objectively and not political for the right or left wing. I wish our media had the same focus.

[@OmniHC]

Well said, that was a better summary than anything i've seen in german. So important to understand each other, instead of shutting each other out. A major point that makes the traditional parties unvotable for me is that they are regularly putting company interests before public interest. Sometimes achieved by outright corruption, sometimes by allowed lobbying - a blurry line between those two.

[@marcuskintz]

I learned more about the German Government in this video than I have in a long time! It's difficult here to find resources/people who even talk about what's going on. Thank you!

[@hoernchenmeister3216]

Sorry, what? You find No resources/information about the German government? Sorry to say but did you ever Heard about "Google" oder maybe socalled "books" or "newspaper"?

[@marcuskintz]

"...I think it's important to have good, cordial, conversations." -NALF Of course I know how/where to find information. Not every resource is tailored to work for everyone. As an immigrant myself, I find it difficult sometimes, to find simple explanations instead of in-depth one-way conversations.

[@haraldontour]

I do, and I had to replace 50% of my friends by different ones. Being part of Bildungsbürgertum and trying to think yourselves is not much fun anymore.

[@TheAschkeks]

​@@haraldontour true

[@geronomina6395]

I can. I'm German.

[@nadinebeck2069]

Wow! Incredible video. Very thoughful. Very good 👍🏻

[@benitaj8255]

I feel sympathy for germany...they have lost their cultural identity and the secret intelligence services have to work too hard to prevent violence erupt.In my city last year ,a 17 year old refugee guy had planned an attack on a Christmas market. Luckiliy,he was caught on time before anything disastrous could happen. But how long shall all this go on?

[@FischerNilsA]

Whats your solution? People will keep moving on this planet - as long as we have an industrial global society? Folks will look at their phones and think _"Wait, this looks much better than here - theres drinking waters and police doesnt rob you, you and there is no war."_ And with climate change? That will expand rapidly - we aint seen nothing yet. So how do you want to change that? A siege mentality? And an armed border that shoots everyone who isnt citizen-chipped? Because that would be what is basically needed. A police state, militarized borders, and regular blatant mass-violence to keep desperate people from searching for a better or just a chanco for life. One must think such things through. More and more people will move because they need to and want to.

[@catriona_drummond]

we haven't lost it. We are currently struggling to keep it. Geramny is a horribly slow boat, but eventually it'll move in the right direction.

[@holger_p]

The discussion is "Is identity required". This was denied for a long time. Nobody is loosing identity when Muslims don't celebrate christmas. This is the nonsense idea some people try to spread. Or setting a mosk next to a church, is this loosing anything ? Or gaining ?

[@490o]

For as long as Germany (and other western countries) meddle in other countries affairs. Extremism doesn't just arise because people feel like it. It happens because they feel like they were wronged. Not trying to justify it but it's no surprise why it happens.

[@oliverthaesler8001]

You got that right brother! Coming from a married couple that lived in California for 50 years and now living in Waldshut for the last 4 years.

[@mojojim6458]

I wonder what the impact will be when VW starts closing plants in Germany.

[@DarklordDE]

We will do what we can do best...crying, complaining, blaming the government that they should solve your problems instead of fixing our problems for us self.🙄

[@holger_p]

People will work in other plants. Some have to move maybe.

[@realpirate]

Good one, Nalf , the way you explain it makes more sense than german TV . Thanks for your angle on this !

[@danielkaufmann15]

May be you should stop to watch RTL, Sat1, Pro7 and so on? May be this will solve your problem.

[@johapunkt3053]

First of all, thank you for this very succinct overview of the current political shifts! I was born and bred in Eastern Germany, with a father in the NVA, a mother in the SED and later PDS, and a grandmother and aunt working for the MfS. Personally, I am stunned to see what is happening in this country. To me, it feels like a substantial part of the citizens completely forgot their history lessons. Never ever has an authoritarian approach led to wealth, peace and stability of a whole nation, but rather a chosen few within that state. Hating on people of a different cultural background just because, that doesn't make sense to me. I'm working in the medical field, and two of my colleagues are refugees from Syria, two are immigrants from African countries, and seven are of Kazakh or Russian origin. Many of our patients are Ukrainian refugees, Syrian refugees, elderly Turkish people who were brought to Germany by their children as they needed more care. Can it be frustrating to try to explain medical procedures to people who do not speak your language, nor you theirs, and who don't have a translator with them as those cost 50-100€ per hour and they cannot afford it? Who sometimes canot even read or write? Absolutely. Can you make it work? To the best of your ability, yes. You can have young people with a smartphone refusing to document their medication, and you can have the 80-year-old who never learned how to write but still manages to copy the numbers from her device for you, because they just make the effort to work with you. It just needs an open mind and the willingness to compromise. By the way, they usually come with public transport, unless they have such severe mobility issues, that their insurance pays the taxi fee for them just as any other person with insurance and eligibility because of mobility issues. I have two degrees, and yet I will probably not make enough to be able to live comfortably off the pension I'll receive after working full time my whole life. But this isn't any immigrant's fault. It's a systemic problem, and any possible solution has been blocked by those profiting off this system most. We have officials from the BFM advising rich people on how to evade tax payments. We have tax payers pay for the minister of finance's luxury wedding while the same guy wants us to work longer, and pay more taxes. We have former politicians writing books on how Germany is going down the drain, but who are still against taxing the rich and also against taxing officials (because that would actually hurt their own account). And we have a chancellor whose involvement in one of the biggest financial scandals was conveniently forgotten. We have managers running major companies to the ground, getting fired with a hefty compensation, and starting off their next management gig at another big company soon after. Current policy is mainly finger pointing and whataboutism, completely focused on electorial wins and not proper long-term solutions to actual problems. And those who try to do something and are open about how it won't be a walk in the park, open about how there are still problems that need to be adressed, are the ones people talk sh*t about because they are used to politicians promising them the land of milk and honey, yet never actually doing anything leading to it (see 16 years of GroKo, lotsa talk, little action). Yet I'll never vote for either AfD or BSW, because both will not improve this country's situation, but force people further apart.

[@synthplayer1563]

Very well spoken.

[@lucyshnyr5647]

So well said, thanks for taking the time. Hopefully more people will read this.

[@Sketchblopp]

Well said, thanks for sharing your experience. I'm originally from Thuringia but moved to a different part of Germany several years ago for an education that wasn't available in my home country at that time. I'm not entirely surprised the stuff that has been cooking for decades is finally boiling over because CDU+ were busy blaming whatever convenient scapegoat instead of caring about a rising activity of fascists and fascist sympathizers in the area. Nevertheless knowing possibly 1/3 of the people I met in all stages in my life might have voted for these people is appalling. They had a similar upbringing like me and yet they blame people who never had nor will ever have actual influence on their lives for deeply ingrained systemic problems...? I don't get it. Anyway, that's why it's extra heartwarming to read posts like yours. It's a reminder not everyone out there went down the deep end and there is still hope.

[@godSPARDA1995]

You summed it up well! Good video:)

[@j.neumann1722]

Love your neutral look at the things. A very clear view without judging. I don’t know why things had to come so far off, but I guess it’s a backlash to a lot of bad or at least badly explained decisions of the last governments since the year 2000 starting with Hartz4 and many more… those results will help no one… 😢 but populism is becoming more and more a problem … and not just in Germany

[@yahouallavoix4512]

The political quadrant is a very interesting graph, especially the details. Thumbs up!!

[@marlajacques6947]

Exactly, I’m tired of being told by ppl who are older, live in established areas amongst their safe peers, frequently on holiday and have NO kids tell me I should not worry about me and my daughter being attacked, the crime, the filth, the fear, chaos in working class areas they never set their lefty foot in. Seems pretty obvious what led to this ‘suprise’ swing

[@bastyaya]

Which areas in Saxony or Thuringia are you talking about exactly?

[@Meckermaxxe]

@@bastyaya It's not just Saxony and Thuringia. They have eyes, ears. They can see and hear what is going on every day in all 16 states. And they don't want to become the next Bremen, Berlin, Duisburg, Frankfurt, Hamburg....

[@bastyaya]

@@Meckermaxxe UChS4qRj3f2JuT-oc6a32aWA Sure, I guess you know from your telegram bubbles how horrible these places are. But are you maybe, probably not because you don't wanna hear that, aware how many no-go areas for foreign looking people there are e.g. in Saxony and Thuringia? Beside that your list consisted only of western German cities, and it was about REGIONAL politics! Do you get that? Pathetic to the fullest!

[@clausstimpfig3803]

what crime what filth?

[@clausstimpfig3803]

@@Meckermaxxe Here in my town everything works fine. So what are you talking about?

[@ReginaWittl-bj4dw]

I think you explained the complicated sitation very well. Thanks for your informative and well-ballanced video

[@TiloloiT]

In Italy, Spain or France it is the same...

[@DarklordDE]

During the EU elections the France right wing le pen kicked the AfD out of the right eu group cause they are far to right for them. Think about...

[@DanielKaufmann3234]

​@@DarklordDEYes, you're right. I fear the right-wing parties riding on a wave of really bad things that happened in Europe. Since some weeks, no day passing by without attacks of bad people who killing other people in the name of.......

[@DanielKaufmann3234]

​@@DarklordDEAllah

[@BitZapple]

Yeah it's controlled opposition, a theater for public amusement, we are all just getting trolled as per usual, move along nothing to see here I still vote AfD because they're the only party outspokenly opposing immigration Many of the other policies I actually find repulsive and I won't be surprised if it backfires hugely because whatever powers that be seem to just irrationally hate nice things for no apparently sensible reason

[@TiloloiT]

@@DarklordDE thats true but front national is quite right too... they only kicked them because of some dumb moves...

[@hussnainshah4914]

Couldn't have explained the nuance of politics better, well done NALF.

[@royblack2395]

Extreme right? Trump would call the AFD socialists.😭

[@K__a__M__I]

Yeah, Trump says a lot of stuff once he gets started.

[@TheMarslMcFly]

Bernd Höcke is tight with a buncha Neo Nazis, he'd get along great with Trump

[@Ordo1980]

It is always interesting to see how much different are the politics in different countries. For me the AFD is very-very mild.

[@CrankCase08]

I doubt it. After all, he would never call Britain's relatively 'milk-toast' Reform Party 'socialist'. However, not all socialism is Marxist, and it's necessary for any true Nationalist government to thrive, in order to prevent treasonous capitalists exporting capital out of the country.

[@tehweh8202]

And he'd probably call Olaf Scholz covfefe. Trump doesn't really understand the whole "human language" thing.

[@alred3600]

Well. I'm asking myself, if this us really just an economical or regional problem, or if this kind of social and political radicalisation, which by the way can't be only seen in Eastern Germany, is rooted in a much more deeper, global and therefore much more severe and difficult to approach development, where more and more people struggle to understand a and succeed in an ever more complicated and faster changing world, developing a growing feeling of being overwhelmed by developments and events they don't understand and therefore can't control, resulting in severe frustration and fear of being 'outdated' and replaced by those better equipped for an "ever more enstranged" world of the present and future, not only incommensurable with anything they know (and therefore cherish) but also creating tremendous fear, as it is clear the new world of tomorrow will enforce even bigger changes, challenges and ruptures in them, than they already have experienced and often more endured than wanted - and yes, this maybe also explains why political and social radicalisation is more present un tbe German East, tham in the West, were people not only had much more time to adapt to this, very much capitalistic and neoliberal, highly competitive world, but also didn't have the historical misfortune to have pretty much to completely restart and reinvent their lives and therefore identity after 1989, having never learnt or having even the material and intellectual resources to do so... And yes, there may be has been huge material effort to help the population of the former GDR to do so, but intellectually and culturally, Germany pretty much failed completely, as the so called "reunification" pretty much was a western overtake, not so much by evil pre thought or arrogance (well, there have been quite some cases, and much more as there should have been...), but pretty much out of a toxic mixture of mutual estrangement, naiveness, disinterest and ignorance, despite all the well formulated announcements, promises and hopes... So, I'd say, what we see now, and pretty much have seen for the last 30+ years is the result of some sort of widespread disillusion and a feeling of being overwhelmed by change. Both making people fearful and highly susceptible for any kind of radical political ideas, conspiracy theories, fake or 'alternative' informations etc. pp.. So like so often, the only thing we may can do to encounter this, is education, both to make people more resilient towards false promises and informations, and to équipe them with instruments and abilities to cope and become successful, and therefore to be better prepared and more resilient in a future, we even can't imagine today... And no. That's anything, than an easy task. As, as just mentioned, in a world, changed by us as fast as now, we simply don't know, what information or skills will be 'important'. It's more about how to order and valuate information, than the information itself,,and it's more about how to learn (and to forget or replace the learned) than the things we learn. In short, if we want to react to the frustrations and radicalisation of today, we have to teach people better how they can reinvent themselves permanently, so getting more resilient and relaxed to change...And no, there is no alternative - at least if we don't want to come to the same end as our ancestors did, when their societies got crashed by the developments, they introduced themselves...And no, simple solutions or violence against others never solved this age-old problem - If so, the only successful way to outsmart an ever repeating history of rise, bloom and fall of civilizations, was to collaborate invent Yourself and Your society and culture as a new entity, such has had learned from it's faults in the past, developed new, intelligent solutions for the challenges of its time, and in the end was very different and distinct from what has been...And yes, as - in opposite if all modern advertising - humans normally don't are particularly fond or interested in change, in the past, the most sucesful way of bringing people to accept necessary change, was to tell them, there is none, and they simply have to restore and turn back to some good old values, practices, things and habits of their ancestors - values, habits, practices, things and ancestors wich almost always never had existed, and we're invented by those, intelligent or ruthless enough to know the trick... So maybe the best way to prepare people for a ever faster changing world, is to invent a even faster changing past, and tell them, things always have been like this...At least, this is the only thing, I can think of, as in a country like Germany, with it's millennia old troubbled past, huge regional differences, ruptures and opposites, it always has been poroven extremely difficult and conflictouous, to simply impose change by a central power, or in the name of virtue, moral, intelligence, enlightenment etc., as Germans (and many others) are born notoriously suspicious, which unfortunately makes them ideal victims for any kind of conspiracy or the promise of a better - alternative - world, or the fairytale of the guilt of someone else...So maybe we should start with teachung people to stop to try the make the world a better place, accepting and appreciating what they have.... And yes, the longer I think about, the more contradictory things become - such is a good sign, as the world is a very complicated place, not made for the lazy, ignorant or faintharded....Unluckily, most people are a bit lazy, sometimes a bit ignorant, and honestly also quite faintharded, as anything else involves such a Hugh amount of effort and is conected with extreme inconvenience and quite often opposition and the hatred of those, who like their lives calm and convenient... So maybe we should start with the fighting of convenience, or hiw it us called in German: Der innere Schweinehund!

[@sns4748]

A British commentator looked up the AfD party program which is available in English too and his conclusion was it’s pretty unspectacular, definitely not far right extremist

[@azeQify]

it's labeled as such cause the agenda pushes that the west should be flooded with migrants. afd clearly is against that, me too that's why i voted for them. my parents came from iraq to germany, hard working. they voted for afd too

[@alansmith4748]

Who was the British commentator?

[@V100-e5q]

The AfD is luring people by addressing everyday problems. Same with the BSW. That is their trick to get votes. Beyond that they have more hidden agendas they are not talking too much about.

[@alana8388]

​@@alansmith4748 British far right? Than it would make some sense. 🤷🏻

[@marcromain64]

To be completely fair, the AfD defines itself less by its written election manifesto, which tries very hard to sound tame and bourgeois-neoliberal, than by the regular, much more extreme statements of its leaders.

[@ErikMuellerGermany]

Great video!

[@Thefullbeard]

Hey Nalf. I was skeptical if this video would give me insight as a German. It did! So good job. Very brave and important of you to make such a video! In my opinion it is sometimes important to change things and get an "outside" perspective (even though you have been in Germany for quite some time now and this may be your home now, don't get me wrong). I think you brought up some important points that a lot of people are missing in their German view. Especially the lack of dialog is a big problem in my opinion. Polarization is part of it in my opinion, we can see what that does to a society in the US (my opinion). I do not support this development. The media, at least in my eyes, plays a big role in that. AFD sympathizers or voters do not trust the public media, but mostly their independent sources. On the other hand, much of the "other side" does not see or understand the problems some people have because they do not leave their bubble enough and only consume the media that supports their views. This eliminates any common ground for discussion and only fuels the polarization. BUT, I wish there was a clearer view of the AFD's position on immigrants. I think it is too easy to blame all the problems of Germany (and many other societies) on immigrants and people who are allegedly not (enough) German. This is not the solution to the problems and I know you tried to be as neutral as possible, but this point could have been a bit more critical of the AFD in my eyes.

[@NALFVLOGS]

really great and thoughtful comment. Thanks for your insights!

[@Thefullbeard]

@@NALFVLOGS no thank you. Maybe your Community can prove that dialogue can work.

[@Kimitri]

this duality walks through human kind since the beginning of society. Politics is the art of manipule minds to believe the other side is the enemy!

[@JM-1963]

Why can NALF explain the political landscape of my home country to me better than the German press can? Thank you NALF

[@stefan6412]

Because his takes a neutral dispassionate view. Most of the german press are like the media in the u.s invested in the status quo either because they work for the public tv (ARD/ZDF) or they are owned by Bertelsmann, Springer etc. which are friends with many career politicians (like Angela Merkel for example). So giving the Afd or BSW a fair shot is not in their self interest.

[@ErikMuellerGermany]

👍

[@buschhuhn9197]

I thought the same. Am a German expat looking desperately for understandable balanced German political commentary, which doesn't bore me to death. Some good stuff on the other side of the Channel but not in my home country. Thanks Nalf, the horse shoe theory helped me to understand some puzzling issues

[@tombecker6790]

@@JM-1963 Sorry with all respects, that was all but not an explaination

[@JanS-i8z]

Da er im Gegensatz zu unserem ÖRR unabhängig von der Politik ist.

[@-iIIiiiiiIiiiiIIIiiIi-]

The challenge for those who wished to maintain a centrist position in the political spectrum was that the parameters of acceptable beliefs and values shifted dramatically and unexpectedly. The goal posts shifted over night, which left centrists feeling off balance.

[@minementalx]

I think the political framing part can be a bit misleading. It could be seen as the a shift to AFD or BSW is a shift to more authoritarian stance. In my opinion it's actually the opposite. The government got more and more authoritarian in the last decades and never were citizens opposing the government more in fear of being prosecuted.

[@extra_tof]

No germanies democracy is not authoritarian and nazis protesting arent fearing the state or they are idiots. They are still allowed to hold their ralleys. The only party that wants to reduce the right to protest is the afd

[@Vatnik_tschistilka]

I kinda feel Like it's the opposite. Never in My 20 years of actively following politics has there been a government that was less authoritarian then this one. They don't even have an authority within the government, let alone beyond it.

[@Ciel-qh1rk]

You are right

[@zean164]

Exactly right. Very important additio!

[@lucamaag315]

Never more in fear of being prosecuted..wow, that is easily the stupidest and most historically forgetful statement of the day 🙄

[@eXeLeNeRgY]

very balanced take. there is no truly differentiated reporting on these issues in the news, which contributes to our problem. wonderfull german pronunciation btw.

[@Arathreas]

Hey, I come from somewhere close to you in the Schwäbische Alb but I live in Eastern Germany for almost a decade now. Many of my family members still live down south and whenever I'm back I notice the stark difference in the mindst but also the wealth of people. The west really doesn't understand the AFD. I think it's much more comparable to Trump and the Rust Belt. Anxiety really doesn't play a part here. It's just that people here don't have a perspective, nor future to work for. East Germany was absorbed into the West, without getting it's own temporary rule of law or it's own tax rates. In short, the East never got any opportunity to build up any wealth sold off and now almost 90% of properties here are owned by westgermans. The state was essentially canibalized. While not everbody voted for the AFD, by far more than the majority of people I know want it to be part of amcoalitikn and merely voted CDU so the afd gets tamed a bit in a coalition, like it's been the case with the FPÖ in Austria. Another very interesting thing, parts of my family were cold war refugees, they say the worst thing about the Soviet sytem was not that there wasn't any stuff, but the fact that censorship was everywhere. Now the mainstream parties want to set boundaries and shrink the freedom of speech, the East Germans know that really well and immediately go on the barricades. The stonger the rhetoric against the AFD, the stronger it will grow in the east. The Brandmauer might also cause the AFD to get an absolute majority in 5 years. The country has been in stagnation for 2 decades and people wish for a change, but the parties are all small, fragmented with different visions. The consequence is that they can't agree on such a vision so the only common ground is the here and now. Thus, just like with Ampel, which originally started as a "Zukunftskoalition", the consequence is more stagnation, which is why the people are practically forced to move to the AFD and BSW. I fear this is only going to get worse as long as both the mainstreams and the new parties continue to be so stubborn. In Switzerland for example, all parties are forced to work together. Both right and left wing. I wished we had a similar political system.

[@nichderjeniche]

@@Arathreas it really makes sense to vote CDU, when the CDU said they will not make a coalition with the AfD. 😑 Now the CDU will make a coalition with Wagenknecht party, is this what the CDU voters wanted?

[@veYda25]

That was the best take on the situation Nalf, thanks for that.

[@malukri78]

Very well explained, thank you!

[@cursor1245]

Nice to see you make a Video about it. Didnt really Expect it Even though it makes sense.

[@FrankBuchholz-d5z]

Good analysis, but polls say it is mostly about unregulated migration. Foreigners account for 15% of citizen but almost half of both 4 million long-term unemployed and criminal suspects. The east germans don`t care for left or right as long as they promise an end to the crisis which is what BSW does in contrast to the established left. In socialism, they had extremely strict migration laws and low crime rates and many want that back.

[@KGTiberius]

Well said. Great video. It’d be great to see the American placement of each German party on the political spectrum map… this would be a brilliant juxtaposition to other countries’ political systems.

[@TimeToStartOver]

Everybody wants diversity. So there should also be diversity of opinions. It doesn't matter which opinion or party you like or not. It's called democracy. 👍

[@igraineohnefurcht621]

racism is not an opinion

[@TimeToStartOver]

@@igraineohnefurcht621 the R-word.. definitely overused. The definition is clear, and I actually can't see any racism in German politics, rather the opposite. But I have my opinion, and you have yours, isn't that great? ✌

[@ao-111]

@@igraineohnefurcht621 Ich bin mir relativ sicher, dass ich davon ausgehen kann, was du als "rassistisch" bezeichnen wuerdest auf keinen Fall so ist.

[@Der_Giga]

@@TimeToStartOver Yeah, you are a rascist and a coward. No, your opinion is not worth much.

[@hildebrandgotenland4823]

@@igraineohnefurcht621 The AfD is not against migration, it is against illegal migration. Only leftradicals call acting according to law racist. Are you one? Or a Tagesschauwatcher?

[@timwohrle879]

Thank you for this differentiated comment, Nalf 👍

[@ALBANOSTI]

Hey Nalf, really like political map you have brought up. I think, after talking to some AfD politicians and reading the party program the AfD is somewhere between Social Liberalism, Conservatism and classical liberalism. BSW is between Left-Wing Populism, Orthodox Marxism and Democratic Socialism. Both are not in all topics in the mentioned spots. But this chart is a nice tool to characterise parties!

[@TerrorSpatz]

Lieing Media is also a big Problem nowadays. Here in Germany and also in the US i think

[@gtvgranberg]

Didnt Adolf fix the Lügenpresse?

[@DarklordDE]

The official media is not lying the media you watch on KZbin is lying but you are not able to see that. Talking to and AfD guy is same as visiting a church all about what he believes not about reality.

[@dbo0729]

All around the world the media lie. It's their job.

[@hgzhhghj1275]

Thanks dude, for your unbiased, reasonable and intelligent review on the current poltical German landscape! Good man! 💪

[@zaphod9992004]

I think that social media’s role in this needs to be considered, the speed in which minds are influenced is very concerning

[@DarklordDE]

Thats so sad and so true. AfD is the most active on TicToc and others. They post fakenews and lies but they post something and the people believe it😢

[@sns4748]

I was CDU and FDP voter for years but they lost me because my issues seems none of their concerns

[@clausstimpfig3803]

please study english

[@sns4748]

@@clausstimpfig3803 Kiss my butt ☺️

[@sns4748]

@@clausstimpfig3803 Kiss my @zz 😎

[@sns4748]

@@clausstimpfig3803 kiss mai äss

[@clausstimpfig3803]

@@sns4748 I wont

[@Devanow]

My opinion on the whole topic is, that as a non-politician, I should not need to think about ways to adress issues or to reason myself to others. That is what I think is part of the job of a politician. Me as non-politician, I just need to listen to the standpoints of the different parties, evaluate if their goals fit with what I think is good for me and the different environments (social, economic, etc..) I'm living in and what either fits or can change my view. If someone wants to influence people politics wise, they should become a politician. If some rando tells/writes "I vote for XY because they will fix YZ.", thats what I expect to hear/read from a politician advertising his party, not from a non-politician. My time would be too valuable to protest against something. Thats what votes are for. Everything other than that is just an effort in "releasing pressure". Working out or doing some cardio would be a healthier way to release pressure. If it's frustrating, choose the punching bag, not the social media app or the street.

[@burkhardd9782]

Dear NALF, thank you for your objective view of things and your sober way of explaining the situation. I have read in American newspapers that people in the USA are somewhat shocked by the shift to the right in Germany. They are reminded of our dark history and fear a repeat. I too am concerned about the trends in Germany, but I will simply try to write about the thoughts and concerns and fears of protest voters. You have already mentioned that Germany has taken in many refugees. Many Germans are skeptical about immigration from Muslim Arab cultures. It is mainly young men who come to us who don't have a passport but do have a modern smartphone. We take them in, we provide for them, we give them accommodation, we offer language courses and integration support. They are fully integrated into our healthcare system, even though they have never received any services. And then a not inconsiderable number of them commit acts of violence, stabbings, rape and terror. People who complain about this appalling behavior are pigeonholed by the political elite as racists and right-wing radicals. At the same time, we see how this government is really doing everything it can to ensure that Germany's economy goes downhill. Industry is moving away, companies are suffering from high energy costs and excessive bureaucracy. Doing business successfully is becoming increasingly difficult. Inflation is also getting people down, prices are exploding and many people will soon no longer know how to pay for their purchases. We also have a massive housing shortage. People can no longer find affordable housing, which can actually be attributed to massive immigration. This logical statement alone will be a reason for quite a few people to associate me with the AfD. But can anyone explain to me how an additional 2 million migrants are supposed to live in Germany if not much new housing is being built? Then many people will be afraid of poverty in retirement. They pay into the pension fund for 45 years and live in poverty as pensioners. Please note: this is all happening in a country where the highest tax rates are paid. In addition, many people remember times when Christmas markets didn't have to be protected by heavily armed police, when Taylor Swift concerts certainly didn't have to be canceled and when there were no demonstrations by Muslims calling for a caliphate. Honestly, all these developments scare me. My father was a WW2 soldier in the Wehrmacht. He survived the war and always told me and my brother that we can't rely on peace. He always said that we have to expect unrest at any time if politics is no longer decent and honest. I'm afraid today that he was right. Politically, I'm actually a liberal, but if I'm honest, I don't feel represented by a single party anymore. There are no more politicians here like Helmut Schmidt, Helmut Kohl or Hans-Dietrich Genscher

[@feuervogel8099]

100% den Nagel auf den Kopf getroffen. Und schon sind wir ,nach neuer Definition, Nazis🤣

[@tombe5791]

@@feuervogel8099 Ich finde, wenn das die "neue" Definition von Nazi ist, darf man da ruhig stolz drauf sein!

[@illy81b]

Wow, this is an excellent analysis and actually way better than everything I have seen on German television. On another note: do you think the USA has some space left for German refugees. I think we might need it in the near future.

[@nichderjeniche]

@@illy81b In the USA you need a bulletproof vest. In Germany you need a stabbing proof vest. But I guess you didn't voted for AfD? So you shouldn't complain then.

[@zean164]

German here: I’m glad to see the comment section under this video - this is really giving me hope that there’s still unpolarized and logically thinking people around me. Sometimes it seems as if the entire country is drifting towards extreme wokism and a new form of green socialism. I’m not an AfD supporter and wouldn’t vote for them but I like the fact that they’re giving the political landscape significant counterbalance that doesn’t allow the other parties to continue constantly shifting left.

[@kruesae22]

As german you should know what socialism is. Please explain the socialist point in Green Party program.

[@Erik69118]

Also noteworthy to mention is the disillusionment many of us in Germany felt when our self employed business's were forced to close our doors for nearly two years because we were considered non-essential to society during the pandemic leading to economic disaster for many of us in which many have never recovered. The AFD was the only party that stood strong against this government overreach.

[@Orbitalbomb]

nothing learned from history. When idiots like you will realize what they are and honestly show openly even today, it will be too late. AFD was by far not the only party to stand against the very necessary measures against the first global pandemic in 100 years. But brain dead people will always think more about their profit than about e.g. me and other losing 4 close family members due to an insufficient and slow reaction to the most dangerous virus pandemic in 100 years.

[@tomorrowneverdies567]

Yes but it still allows immigr. of people with less good quality of phenotype to Germany. Do you agree with that? I do not. Greetings from Greece.

[@tehweh8202]

You just made an Eugenics argument. What on earth is wrong with your brain? Go see a doctor, you seem to have a brain tumour.

[@extra_tof]

​@@tomorrowneverdies567racist scum

[@peterweiss123]

Hey, great video! You did a nice job trying to summarize the main problems of german politics and society (without giving too many examples though) as well as presenting more objective ways to look at politics for a society that implemented many values (so to speak subjective points) from the end of WW2 on, which are great but sometimes hinder us at understanding problems, which we might consider socially not debatable or unchangeably defined. You brought up many great points: In my opinion though, the PSW isnt a left party, which becomes obvious, if you look into Sarah Wagenknechts bio or at the fact that she supports Wladimir Putin. In summary, I see the urge to improve the relations/unity between East-&Rest-Germany /erasing the historical, ideological, infrastructural as well as coorporational/economical differences, which weren't solved in the years after the reunification. Another issue would be the communication of politics and specifically the government, which has to be able to convince the citizen to accept the style of politics and to defend itself clearly against Print media like BILD, who often put them into a bad light, which sticks at a certain part of the population. In general, the debate culture as well as the acceptance of other opinions should be supported and improved not just by institutional/political instances, but especially by the people. In this way, we can avoid such instances as the english/british as well as the US- social and political climate. THE biggest issue though is STABILITY, something, for what Germany is/was famous for, but which is difficult to obtain in times, when change is unavoidable: Issues as climate change, pensions, migration/integration as well as innovation, global production chains and diplomatic/transgovernmental/defensive have become quite controversial and not as easily to handle as it was the case decades ago. If the stability lacks, many citizens want changes, not everybody knows how to archive this though. Its also worth mentioning, that many of the problems, which we see now, were caused by prior governments (Kohl, partly Schröder, Merkel), just look at climate change, stabil coordination of resources or national unity! And, we as the WHOLE society have to become an ACTIVE part of shaping and improving our country, which many citizens dont see as necessary. If you want, please do more videos about political topics such as e.g. how the US political system is shaped and how it works or other topics. Greetings

[@gregorylittle1461]

Visited Schwäbisch Hall for my birthday. Lovely town! Can’t recommend Hotel Scholl. Good beer TOO!😊

[@BitZapple]

Yeah keep visiting the rich and nice places

[@DavidHartel-db5lh]

You got the situation here in Germany really good! A lot of people are not as informed as you! Well done👍

[@Der_Kleine_Mann]

I'm from western Germany and my next vote will pretty surely go to the AFD. The people from eastern Germany know very well how it is to live under an authoritarian government, and that's why they voted exactly as they did, because they don't want that to happen ever again🤷‍♂️ And that's what I also think is where the german government is heading towards in big steps since Merkel. They claim to be the middle but they're more left wing than even the left party was before them.

[@dbo0729]

They moved so far to the left that centre left looks far right to them.

[@GesundheitHannover]

That is no true. Many People are disappointed of their own life and especially their economic situation, they have fear to unsecurity and changes as we have a lot. For this people is someone who promises simple solutions very attractive. The AFD would like to build up an authoritarian government. They started destroying the democracy, if they attack the police, the administration and the justice. They want that the people are frightened and have doubts in everything of the state, government, media a other political parties. They call people and parties with other opinions "enemies" and they are using brutal words in their speeches and social media posts. These all are steps to divide the society, to develop an atmosphere where new fictional stories could be believed (conspirational theories). The AFD is the main danger for the democracy in Germany.

[@extra_tof]

Please dont vote afd. I beg you just once read their entire manifesto and then think about it. Afd is authoritarian anti poor and wants to get rid of people they dont like. Please dont get caught by that populism and be a fool.

[@nichderjeniche]

And west germany is a deterrent example, we don't want become like west germany will all their Talahons everywhere.

[@politicstoday8002]

​@@dbo0729The SPD (Weimar republic) would also be called right nowdays

[@am_haus]

I think it would be good to have all sides be able to come together and have conversations and discussions. -No matter where you live. When things are divided, all people hear is their one chosen side. They are not openminded. They will never know if someone else has better policies or ideas, if they won't hear them out. This rarely happens in my state and nation, and it is the source of problems.

[@MegaCooliam]

I honestly think that this would all go away if the mainstream parties would properly address crime, illegal migration and patronising people who are worried about it!

[@seafighter4]

I'm sorry to say, but this is a naive and uninformed take. People are unhappy with immigration, because liars and charlatans are whipping people into a frenzy. The hate against immigrants is the highest in areas with the fewest immigrants. People are scared and disoriented and those charlatans know how to convert that fear into rage. Immigration is just one token issue. If you 'fix' immigration in their eyes, which you won't be able to btw., they will just take up another token issue to whip people into a frenzy all over again.

[@Likr666]

We will see, that the AfD has no solutions and will cause more problems. Creme is no problem. It's just pushed in the media. Look at the statistics. The illegal migration is noch faktor. The refugees Arena herein legally. According to human tights and the constitution there Arena online few thousnds here, that could be forced to leave Germany. The AfD is lying about the facto.

[@lynnsintention5722]

I agree...BUt the stubbornly refuse to admit the truth

[@kasparhauser5357]

I think that`s not true. The division of German society in so many aspects and the overall development is far too advanced and since longer has become a political factor on its own. Since right now there`s absolutely no party (the party system is an issue itself) or whatever in sight to reunite the country Germany is very likely on its way to English conditions.

[@antoninpawlik6684]

What are you talking about? Germany is one of the safest countries in the WORLD. Are we supposed to install an authoritarian regime in our country? Correct me if iam wrong, but you talk exactly like these populists. You throw these issues out the window, that everyone relates to but you have no actuall idea how to improve these things.

[@susannabonke8552]

Is the article about Wagenknecht from TIME MAGAZINE? Exquisite analyse btw.

[@BitZapple]

Wagenknecht is completely irrelevant

[@jpj77263]

Thank you for this level-headed summary of the situation. I would not vote for the AfD, nor for the BSW. Both challenge the grip of the current parties and institutions on politics, but this is where the similarites end: With the exception of its EU policy and including its stance on OPEN immigration, the AfD stands where the Union (CDU and CSU) could be found mere 20 years ago. The positions that its enemies impute on it are not reflected in the party's actions, e.g. the party also fields candidates with migration backgrounds: Over here in NRW, for example, Enxhi Seli-Zacharias, Omid Najafi, Meysam Ehtemai and others. And its supposedly xenophobic voters actually vote for those candidates; voters, I might add, who actually switched over in high numbers from the Social Democrats (SPD). Nevertheless and starting in the year of the AfD's founding as a EU-sceptical party, both it and its voters have been vilified as "N**is" and been shunned, even threatened and violently attacked. I don't write this to defend their positions, which I don't share; but to highlight how bitterly members not just from the established parties tried first to nip in the bud and now eradicate what an increasing number of voters see as an actual alternative. This bitterness we find reflected in many parts of the press and in particular in the "public-", i.e., state-funded media. I explain this to myself by how political careers work over here: In the US, a considerable number of politicians had careers outside of politics before starting their campaigns. Over here, the pipeline starts much earlier, often even during high school. Such a person has no status and often also no income outside of the party apparatus that they often joined at a young age. Some, like former Hessian Prime Minister Ypsilanti (SPD) even openly express their situation. It also explains how these parties can quickly abandon supposed iron principles: The Greens their pacifism, the Social Democrats their support of industry, the Union their stance on open immigration and nuclear power and the Liberals their focus on deregulation. However, the voters have vastly different priorities than career politicians: Open migration, security and the economy, in particular prices. Both AfD and BSW, as you point out, offer to address those. Thanks again for your summary, and for the other, more entertaining videos you make.

[@DavidWilliams-DSW558]

Time to revisit this topic!

[@Timo-vo5mw]

Nick, you are such an asset to this country. Can you do a mirror video explaining politics in the US?

[@dankenk]

You’re so cute. You’ve really explained the situation without disrespecting anyone

[@em_vish]

It‘s pretty obvious that, despite the smaller issues Germany is facing right now, the Union with their campaign which was pure populism is one of the main reasons of the strength of the hardliner parties. CDU and CSU have identified the green party as their main opponent, SPD as the second one, due to the fact that both parties have enacted reforms that don‘t match their agenda. Campaigning, unfortunately, got way more brutal and personal and political culture has taken a major hit. The one thing quite interesting is the election program of AfD which offers no solution for Germany‘s challenges and put‘s low income individuals in disadvantage, yet those are the ones voting for AfD.

[@kaivr2868]

Smaller issues, seriously?

[@em_vish]

@@kaivr2868 sure! Our biggest problem is a somewhat weak economy, due to the fact that our industry got lazy and is years behind global competition. What specific topic requires immediate action and was handled completely wrong by the Ampel?

[@sns4748]

Das glaubst du hoffentlich selbst nicht

[@kaivr2868]

@@em_vish So you call the deindustralization a "somewhat" weak economy? In which the government is now proposing production according to when wind and sun are there? Just let me name a few items: Illegal mass migration with all the associated monetary, cultural and societal costs (just a bare 50 billion euros per year), crumbling infrastructure, worsening education system, explosion in violent crimes such as knife attacks / gang (g)rapes, total desaster in energy policy leading to an unsecure supply and the highest prices. Oh and in the EU which we so benefit from we have among the lowest old age payments (below 50%), among the highest retirement age (67&8 and rising), the highest tax burden, among the lowest share of owned homes...and I could continue on. Seriously, are you this blind? are you by any chance the assistant of the childrens book author?

[@em_vish]

@@kaivr2868 Your arguments are too easy to refute: 1. the weakness of our economy is due to management failure. Corporations have rested too long on old prosperity. The energy transition to renewables is a success story. In times when the base load cannot be covered by wind and solar power, we buy electricity on the European internal market and import it from Denmark or France. Most of the time, however, we are electricity exporters. Incidentally, the price of electricity is lower than it was when the Ampel got elected. 2. there is no illegal mass immigration. In fact, the numbers of arrivals in 2023 and 2024 are lower than they were in previous years. 3. you have a point about the crumbling infrastructure. Many thanks to the FDP and the CDU/CSU, who are preventing investment measures with the argument of the "Schuldenbremse" and blocking urgently needed reforms. However, thanks to the ruling of the Constitutional Court, this would be no different under any other government. 4. education is a matter for the federal states. In most federal states, the level has increased in recent years or at least remained at the same level. 5 There has been no “explosion” in violent crimes committed by foreigners. 6. on energy policy, see #1 7. as an export nation, we benefit most from the EU. If you don't like the situation in Germany, freedom of movement allows you to settle in any other EU country and obtain citizenship with little effort. Are you really that naive. Don't believe everything posted on Nius or in dubious Telegram channels. And no, unfortunately, I am not Dr. Habeck's assistant, event though I wished, I had a job in a federal ministry.

[@LouisRowlands-n8p]

Good video!

[@tomtom34b]

I think you forgot one topic that only the AfD had a different view on compared to all the other parties in germany: And that is mandatory vaccination. If you are a voter and this topic is or was very important for you, only one political party argued against mandatory vaccination on the, well you know what I am talking about. And people won´t forget that.

[@daweil94]

There are other parties that also have that view, but all of them have

[@themattschulz3984]

What we don´t need is governments who do not take their (election) promises serious and who do not listen to their people. In a weird and curious way, the current situation with the government resembles the situation the SED under Erich Honecker was in in East Germany in 1988 and 1989 ... not listening to their people, just following their agenda without any type of sensibility or accountability, being both arrogant and incompetent (a dangerous combination in itself). Well the difference is, that in east germany at the time elections were a total farce, and so the peaceful revolution happened ... but as Gorbatschow said to Honecker in 1989: "Wer zu spät kommt, den bestraft das Leben" (He who is late, gets punished by life). And i see it being to late for the established parties and especially the government ... they are done for. I hope us germans find the courage to chose liberty once again ... at the moment, none of those parties, established or new, are what i consider a good candidate for a vote. None of them ... its a political clusterduck situation as far as i am concerned. But, the winds of change are blowing again ... and it is on us, how we navigate them.

[@-sephrin2260]

First time the general Western world tendencies (see US, Italy, France, Austria etc) made it in Germany from voting polls to real results and it will become even worse. Reason is that when you vote for something even when that party won we nearly never got the politics but only more of the same angain with only nuances.. so in Democracys worldwide they start to vote for destruction/ forced change. I predicted Trump winning in US vs. Clinton before, because with Barak Obama the US voters tried and voted for CHANGE from within the system and it didn't work out.. The system was to strong for Obama against his best efforts. SO when they got the new change between the same old Elites Puppet and someone to fuck / destroy it.. They voted for Trump. CHANGE is desired and requested, but the fear of the destruction of the system keeps the majority most times at bay and the HOPE that their request for true change is possible from within the system without breaking it and the shots before will show/ help to make it happen before it is to late. But either politicians don't believe in it or the greed is to high and pushing fear will keep things as it is or it would not end be them to pay the price when it breaks because they, their companies and their money will be somewhere nice.. like there is some clean unpoluted, peaceful and nice earth somewhere.

[@DLF_24]

0:09 these dots on the white are not necessary. I thought my screen was dirty af

[@KristinaBoombastic]

Voting AfD is self-defense.

[@tehweh8202]

Nie Wieder is self defense.

[@thetelepath8245]

@7:54 I really like this 2D scheme of explaining politics, it´s way more accurate than just having the one-dimensional Left-to-Right description. Sometimes you also see axes being called socio-economic (x-axis) and socio-cultural (y-axis) This explains the succes of BSW very well because there was no party in Germany before that was socio-economically progressive (left), but socio-culturally conservative (right).

[@tilmannscholz2861]

It's all about migration and energy policy in Germany!

[@ChrisTian-rm7zm]

No, the point is that these issues are being emotionalized and instrumentalized by the right.

[@wizardm]

Its way more than that.

[@SoneaT]

No tilmann is actually right. It's not instrumentalized by right alone! We are democratic, so people can have different opinions and all other parties are almost exactly the same. Feels like left is the only allowed option. But it's driving our country into 2 separate sides, bc there are no grey shades anymore. CSU was originally my party, but they only made everything bader and don't talk about our government now 🤷. But if you have another opinion than left, you will be automatically be far far right. And they can't stop announcing this all the time. We actually don't have a democracy anymore!

[@Abcschtze]

​@@ChrisTian-rm7zm and not from the left?

[@RÅNÇIÐ]

@@ChrisTian-rm7zm Lol. Lmao even.

[@fbahr]

@3:57 Of course, Lower Saxony is a grey "spot" on a map. What else did I expect? [Greetings from Braunschweig, home of the once proud New Yorker Lions ;-)]

[@gulli72]

Shortly prior to the state election a story about a new home for "asylum seekers" in Berlin went big. The plan is to close down the City Hotel - three gigantic concrete slabs in Berlin Lichtenberg -, invest _140 million Euros_ and remodel it for 1,200 inhabitants. Not only does nobody seem to be willing or able to explain, how exactly a place, that people used to rent for money, turned into a place, that requires a _300 thousand Euros per room_ investment so people would tolerate living there free of charge. Berlin also expects 2,400 refugees _per month_ in 2025. That's _six_ gigantic concrete slabs in the middle of the city _per month;_ in an area already struggling massively with rent prices; while Germany doesn't even begin to reach its building target of 400,000 new roofs per year. One doesn't have to be particularly cynical, crazy or a "conspiracy nut" to conclude, that the German state and federal governments are either incompetent or malevolent. It doesn't even matter which one it is. And after a decade of utterly fruitless talk shows and a boatload of empty promises, I'm voting for whoever is most likely to produce _results._ No discussions - those have been had -, _results._ We've been discussing this for 10 years and can't even agree on the simple fact, that people, who are so awful, that even the combined legalese of the entire state apparatus didn't protect them from being flagged "enforceably obligated to leave" ("vollziehbar ausreisepflichtig"), must _actually_ be _forced_ to _leave._ And one thing, that is not going to sway me ever again in my life, is endless propaganda about the opposition _perhaps, maybe, potentially, hypothetically_ aiming to remove all brown people according to totally real secret voice recordings, which unfortunately can't be published for everyone to investigate, because they might _perhaps, maybe, potentially, hypothetically_ affect National Security(TM). Olaf Scholz' version of "democracy" prioritizes ostentatiously giggling about his rejection of citizen interest, my version of "democracy" prioritizes kicking Olaf Scholz off his chair, and if the AfD is willing to take up the job, I toss its criminal record in the paper bin and say: "Congrats. Here's your key card." It's called "Fachkräftemangel".

[@extra_tof]

The afd wont produce results. Thats pure fantasy to even remotely think that will happen. Just look what happened to the few places where the afd holds key positions they get done even less than other. Dont get fooled by this hot air party. They just want total and aboslute power and will cause harm than no other party

[@Jokerman9111]

You damn well summed up the major concerns which led a lot of people to vote for the only opposing party

[@duncanhill3953]

Have watched a few bits of your content. Interesting twist. Please go for it. Regards Duncan