Polarisation in the German election: Die Linke, the centre and the fascist AfD

Our guest Rick Kuhn explains the results of the German election. Rick is a socialist economist, political analyst, and honorary associate professor at ANU. He is the author of a biography of Marxist economist Henryk Grossman, for which he won the Deutscher Prize. 

In understanding the German election, the key word is "polarisation". The fascist AfD have received their best vote yet, of over 20%. Meanwhile the anti-racist left party, Die Linke, tapped into a movement of young antifascists and picked up 9%. The centre ruling coalition has collapsed after years of economic stagnation and migrant-bashing, and has been replaced by the conservative Christian Democrats who court the far-right. 

Further reading:

• "Far right surges, but left surprises, in German elections" by Sean Larson in Red Flag
• Buy Rick Kuhn's book: Labor's Conflict
• Rick Kuhn on economic crisis: https://marxistleftreview.org/articles/economic-crises-are-unavoidable-under-capitalism/