Reason for AfD success:

“Germany has not grown together”

(Bild: krone.tv )

"Krone" foreign policy doyen Kurt Seinitz analyzes the results of last Sunday's German parliamentary elections on krone.tv: for example, why the SPD performed so poorly and why Defense Minister Boris Pistorius could now succeed SPD leader Olaf Scholz: "He is popular with the population. And much more popular than the SPD election result. So things can only go up with him, so to speak."

So what is the specific reason for Pistorius' high popularity? Seinitz: "He simply leads. And it's true that the people, the voters, demand leadership. Scholz did say: If you ask me for leadership, you'll get it. But that's exactly what didn't happen with Scholz. And that is why the disappointment is so great. With Pistorius, however, we know that this will certainly be the case." Is the current great disappointment in Germany also due to the fact that long-term Chancellor Angela Merkel left the population in shambles in the run-up to the fall of the coalition government? Seinitz: "Yes, for around five years now, the Germans have only experienced a shambles. That's why the frustration is so great. It's a structural crisis due to the lack of German development over the last thirty years."

Foreign policy expert Kurt Seinitz in conversation with Gerhard Koller

(Bild: krone.tv )

US troop withdrawal from Germany?
International partners around the world are also increasingly distancing themselves from Germany. For example, the USA under Donald Trump. For example, with regard to the tens of thousands of American soldiers stationed in Germany. They could be withdrawn. Seinitz: "That's what I assume. Trump considers American troops in Europe to be useless. A huge cost factor for America. He is already closing a base in Greece. He is withdrawing the troops to save money." Could a reinvigorated Franco-German axis under Emmanuel Macron and the future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz raise Europe's standing again? Seinitz: "I think that's very likely. Merz's first trip will be demonstratively to Paris. To emphasize that the Franco-German axis is back on track. Trump simply likes Macron. They almost kissed each other off during Macron's visit to Trump."

Better Wessis and whining Ossis
In Germany, on the other hand, the renowned Krone journalist believes that the election Sunday ushered in a kind of farewell symphony of top politicians. Who is affected by this? Seinitz: "Scholz is gone. Lindner from the FDP is gone. Sahra Wagenknecht can't bring herself to resign. But she is out of the picture. Only in eastern Germany is she and her party represented in the state parliaments of the new German states. And if you look at the German electoral map with the color of the dominant parties: On the left is the old Federal Republic of Germany, which is black. And on the right, the former GDR, which is AfD blue. Except for Berlin. But the rest of the old GDR is blue across the board. The AfD has up to forty percent there. For me, that's a phenomenon. Instead of growing together, the two parts of Germany are drifting apart again. I have friends in the west of Germany. They are getting fed up with the fact that they are still paying the solidarity surcharge for the development of the new federal states in eastern Germany. It's been there since reunification. The figures for reconstruction. And then they have to put up with being told something 'from over there'. Yes, they're still talking about "over there". Germany hasn't grown together. Those in the West are the 'better Westerners'. And those in the East are the whining Ossis. That's unbelievable."