Germany, isolated populists ” “

German elections of May 22 2013, with the creation of the Grosse Koalition of the third mandate of Angela Merkel’s Chancellorship, are a further confirmation of the fact that contemporary Germany is distant from revanchist, populist, or neonazi drives. Those who fear an authoritarian, anti-European drift, with implications related to racist or nationalistic radicalism, must direct their glance beyond Berlin. The negative outcomes of the Piratenpartei (Pirate party), and of Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, new Euro-sceptic party), along with the decline of the Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (Npd, National Democratic Party, brought to court for xenophobic violence), signal that current sentiments in Germany are marked by openness to the European perspective, much more than many other countries in the Old Continent. Where the Piraten sail. The German pirate party came about on the wave of electoral successes of the Swedish party bearing the same name. But apart from a set of statements in the local elections of the four Länder, it has never crossed the minimum threshold set for Federal and European elections. In Past September’s federal elections the “pirates” collected 2.2% of all votes, gaining no parliament seats. Where do the fortunes of this political group, which continues attracting the attention of many observers of European politics, come from? They probably stem from a fluctuating attention on the part of disillusioned citizens from all social classes, and of undecided citizens with various ideological stands, ranging from undeniable tendencies to make good proposals (like the battle for minimum wage) to commitments for the preservation of rights in telecommunications and the internet, with social policies bound to slogans such as “We don’t promote richness, but we fight against poverty”. At the same time, the Piraten groups often incur in programmatic and strategic mistakes, like opening their doors to ex members of the NPD. Moreover, the political organization is not bound to the protagonism of the leaders (currently Bernd Schlömer); while it emerges as a party that seeks to attract supporters from the multifaceted realm of the Greens and German left, as well as citizens with far-dated moderate or right-wing roots. In the recent elections for the Bundestag, the Piratenpartei probably paid the dues for its hazy alliances with the right-wing, and for its social and political understanding of women’s role, despite their growing importance within German society. The equivocal position towards Europe should be interpreted from this perspective. It’s hard to predict the degree of consensus that will go to the Pirates in Germany, but it’s still a long way to cross the 5% threshold for parliamentary representation. NPD: memories of a rejected past. While waiting for the German constitutional court of Karlsruhe to take a decision on the umpteenth unconstitutionality report filed against the Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands, the electoral results of past September appear as a severe rejection of a group that is increasingly in the eye of the storm. Violent, xenophobic, nationalistic and isolationalist riots have been NPD’s leitmotif. The party founded in 1964, stemming from the Deutsche Reichspartei – is characterised by strong right-wing nationalistic stances. A recent survey conducted by Germany’s public television ARD has shown that most Germans consider NPD “antidemocratic” and “negative” for Germany. The ideological position against foreigners, “non-white” citizens, Jews and Muslims, to include Christian inspired associations – notably Caritas – is of total rejection, fed on national-populistic grounds such as the defence of national interests with the centrality of the State in economic issues, the refusal of liberism, the identity of people and nation, the privileged attention towards weak, autochthonous brackets. Continuity of thought – never rejected nor denied – of national-socialist and anti-Christian nature is perceived. But if 16 governors of the Länder, while omitting reference to its political orientation, have asked the supreme Court to decide on its unconstitutionality, it means that the violence expressed by the party’s supporters over the years, the assaults on associations providing assistance to immigrants, the violent actions against refugees, no longer have citizenship rights in Germany’s 2014 multiethnic society.