- The European Union is a consolidated democracy—provided the vote goes the way they like.
Elections have taken place in one of the German states—Saxony—and the result is spectacular for Alternative for Germany: 44% of the vote, a full 44%. The German CDU—the German equivalent of the *Partido Popular*, to put it in context—has plummeted to 17%, while left-wing parties are on the verge of losing their representation.
The German people—the sovereign people—have spoken emphatically and expressed themselves clearly; the German authorities have taken note—they have listened and taken note. After reflecting on what the German people want, they have spoken: they are going to try to outlaw the AfD. That is the democratic response when they dislike something. Barely hours have passed since the election results in Saxony became known, and spontaneous street protests calling for the AfD to be banned are already starting; you can be sure they will end up banning it, because the system is always the same.
I am going to tell you how this European democracy works, because what is happening in Germany is also happening in Spain, Portugal, Hungary, and so on. The methodology is always the same—always. And it begins like this: when a political party emerges from outside the system—outside the dictates of von der Leyen—and attempts to offer solutions to problems like insecurity, the erosion of values, high taxation, and so forth, the very first thing they do is quickly slap the "far-right" label on it.
Once that penalty has been imposed on you, the ordeal begins. The first consequence is that you vanish from the media: pundits sympathetic to that political group are no longer invited on air, the party isn't mentioned—it ceases to exist in public discourse; it is completely ignored. If, despite this, it starts rising in the polls, the moment that happens, the media begins to talk about the group—but only to tear it apart. They start spreading hoaxes and labeling it neo-Nazi, fascist, or far-right—a brutal onslaught from the entire press, across the spectrum from right to left.
If, despite all that, the party secures an electoral majority, the next step is the "cordon sanitaire." All the other parties conspire to prevent this group—legitimately voted for by the citizens—from governing; we even see right-wing parties forming coalitions with left-wing or even far-left parties just to stop the election winner from taking power. And the final step—one that hasn't happened yet but will—comes if that party, despite the massive machinery arrayed against it, despite the obstacles, the intense scrutiny, and the dirty tricks, manages to win an absolute majority and bypass the "cordon sanitaire." That is when the last phase arrives: the party is simply outlawed. In fact—coincidentally—the AfD is currently just two points shy of an absolute majority, and now there is serious talk, stronger than ever, about banning it. This is European democracy.
But what is it about these parties labeled "far-right" that is so dangerous it prompts calls to outlaw them? And on the other hand, if they are truly so bad and so fascist, how is it possible for them to garner so many votes? Well, the first thing that strikes me is that in many countries—especially Spain—far-left parties are not only permitted but actually enter government without anyone batting an eye. Why do they consider outlawing what they label "far-right" while viewing the existence of the far-left as normal? There are parties that are heirs to communism—the ideology responsible for the highest death toll in history, with 200 million deaths worldwide—yet no one proposes banning the Communist Party, whereas they do seek to ban a party of the so-called far-right.
The problem isn't the ideology; the problem is stepping out of line and refusing to be a puppet for those truly in charge—because let’s talk about what the "far-right" actually is. When you try to dig into the arguments used to justify banning Germany's AfD (Alternative for Germany), the only clear takeaway is the claim that they are an "ethnocracy"—meaning they prioritize Germans, German culture, and German traditions above all else. This is labeled as racism, a notion that is simply mind-boggling.
The AfD’s platform calls for the deportation of anyone present in Germany illegally—implying, in effect, that it is unconstitutional for a political party to want to enforce the law. At no point does the AfD speak of deporting people who are in Germany legally or with irregular status, but rather those who are there illegally.
Another measure they are calling for is a review of all welfare payments, subsidies, and the like, arguing that these are ruining Germany. Where is the problem with that? That is what is labeled "far-right." The "far-right" is a construct of the European Union designed to exclude from the system any political parties that care more about their own citizens than about the European Union—those known as patriots because they place their nation above the EU. In short, any political party seeking to break free from Brussels' control is branded as far-right.
