Commentary on the AfD victory: The moment of truth has arrived

The moment of truth has arrived, argues Robert Pausch. For the first time since the Federal Republic was founded, a far-right party stands directly before political power in Germany and could provide a state premier.

“

The moment of truth has arrived.

Pausch, a political correspondent for Die Zeit and host of the podcast “Was jetzt?, Der Wahlkreis,” describes the development as a sober account of reality rather than hysteria. In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD won 44 percent and became the strongest party by a wide margin. The groups that once occupied the organized far-right’s margins, he says, are now part of the mainstream and could soon fill positions in the state.

His central phrase is that “the shame has disappeared.” Two years ago, the AfD campaigned in Thuringia with the slogan, “Your neighbor votes for us too.” At the time, Pausch says, the slogan worked because voting for a radical-right party remained something people preferred to keep private. In Saxony-Anhalt, however, the party organized mass events, filled market squares and turned gatherings into public festivals, complete with inflatable castles. Thousands joined motorcycle outings with Ulrich Siegmund.

“

Your neighbor votes for us too.

The party’s videos no longer address supporters in a conspiratorial whisper. Instead, they present them as members of an avant-garde and a unique team making history. Pausch says the AfD has also abandoned its own form of restraint at the moment of its greatest strength, dismissing what it calls “distanceritis.” The result, in his telling, is a movement increasingly willing to show the forces that once remained hidden behind its public image.

“

The shame has disappeared.