September, 2019
Berlin -- The German states of Brandenburg and Saxony voted last weekend, where results showed a continuing trend toward the far-right AfD party.
Nevertheless, the center-right CDU prevailed in Saxony and the center-left prevailed in Brandenburg, although both parties were weakened and may have difficulty forming governing coalitions.
The Greens and the centrist FDP also gained modestly in each state. Much of the AfD gains came at the expense of the leftist Die Linke party. Some analysts suggested that those inclined toward authoritarianism were shifting among themselves. Most of the election commentary centered on the fear of immigrants as the main issue in the voting.
Not immigrants themselves. Just fear of immigrants. I was struck by a report in Der Tagesspiegel about the small town of Hirschfeld, on the border between the two states. It gave the AfD its largest victory at 50.6% of the vote. It has no immigrants. The nearest immigrant lives twelve kilometers away.
This comports with voting patterns in the U.K. and the U.S., where immigration issues are most potent where actual immigrants and refugees are fewest.
It seems relevant to note that my hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska, has more immigrants and refugees per capita than any other city in the U.S. It has been accepting refugees for decades; they and the city do well together.
