Link to the video: https://youtu.be/O6bpZbTi_Gk
In their joint work, Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt How democracies die identified the ’key indicators of authoritarian behaviour‘:
- the willingness to curtail the rights of the opposition,
- rhetoric that declares opposition forces to be enemies of the state,
- Attempts to exclude the opposition from full participation in political life,
- broad defamation laws.
The two political scientists warn that this process is taking place insidiously and under the „guise of legality“. However, all these measures are already in place in Germany, not only insidiously, but also completely openly and unabashedly. All of this has become part of everyday political life.
The ’guard rails of democracy‘, as the two authors diagnose this treatment of opposition forces, have long since been broken down in Germany. And the destruction of democracy is being purposefully driven forward. Completely openly and shamelessly. And, of all people, the man who bears special responsibility for protecting our constitution and thus our democracy, the president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, is the spearhead of the destroyers of democracy in Germany.
For him, freedom of expression, the cornerstone of our constitution, ends the moment the federal government's policies are criticised. He considers this to be unconstitutional, as it „delegitimises the state“. The ability to criticise the state is a fundamental part of any democracy and freedom of expression. This includes criticism that is fundamental and even polemical.
Dictatorships can be recognised by the fact that criticism of the state is suppressed. We are well on the way to becoming one.
There has never been a comparable violation of the Basic Law and our inalienable human rights by the state itself in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany. This federal government has laid the axe to the roots of our constitutional state. In full view of everyone. Everyone can see it, everyone can hear it. No one should say later that they knew nothing about it!
As a political foundation, our aim is not only to educate, but also to shake people up. We want to open people's eyes so that everyone can see what is happening to our democracy. In many areas and in fundamental respects, Germany has long since gone from being a leading nation to a lagging state. That alone is disturbing enough. But what is even more dramatic, in my view, is that our democracy is being deliberately and consciously strangled.
When an opposition party is denied fundamental rights and opportunities to participate, it is more than a minor issue. It is scandalous! The permanent exclusion of an important opposition party and the foundation associated with it shows a previously unimaginable degree of hostility towards democracy. This has never happened before since the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany. The most important opposition and its political environment are being openly and brazenly denied fundamental rights that should be a matter of course. This is how democracy is strangled.
It is obvious that effective political opposition, both in parliament and in the pre-political arena, is to be suppressed at any cost, absolutely any cost. Even if it means violating our constitution. This shows not only a lack of understanding of democracy, but also contempt for democracy. In addition, there is largely no media coverage capable of putting an end to these anti-democratic activities. Quite the contrary. ARD and ZDF not only support the federal government, but are its front-line fighters.
Never in recent years has Alexis de Tocqueville been as relevant as he is today here in Germany. In the 19th century, he described with concern and foresight the dangers of a subtle erosion of democracy.
He stated:
„In democratic republics, tyranny works differently (than in despotisms); it attacks the mind directly. Here, the ruler no longer says, ’Think as I do, or die,‘ but rather, ’You have the freedom not to think as I do; your life, your property, and everything else will remain yours, but from that day forward, you will be a stranger among us. You will retain your civil rights, but they will be of no use to you; for if you want to be elected by your fellow citizens, they will refuse to vote for you; indeed, if you only desire their respect, they will pretend to deny it to you. You will continue to live among people, but you will lose your rights to human interaction. If you approach one of your own kind, he will flee from you like a leper; and even those who believe in your innocence will abandon you, lest they too be shunned. Go in peace, I will spare your life, but it is worse than death.‘
In Germany in 2024, all of this can increasingly be observed.
Priests lose their jobs, firefighters are no longer welcome, doctors refuse to treat patients, restaurateurs are pressured, entrepreneurs influence their employees, family relationships and friendships are severed. All because of a visible commitment to or sympathy for the AfD.
As a political foundation closely associated with the AfD, we stand in the tradition of the two revolutions of 1848 and 1989. With our deeply civic engagement, we articulate the will to fundamentally renew our country in the spirit of freedom and democracy and to restore these lost principles. We are open to the world, but we want to be and remain German. We do not want to become a caliphate of Islamists in our own country.
We want to regain and permanently preserve human dignity, families with children, our Western, Christian-based culture, our language and our traditions in a peaceful, democratic and sovereign nation state. All this is only possible in an intact democracy. This is what our foundation is committed to.
Here Go to the video contribution by Ms Erika Steinbach (8:50 min).
