GERMANY - A combination of mass migration and economic woes is likely to crack the firewall around AfD, with wide-reaching consequences not only for Germany, but for Europe. Germany’s political landscape is swinging decisively to the right, causing alarm and consternation within its liberal establishment. Recent state elections in Hesse and Bavaria saw a powerful performance of the right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD). AfD will now be the strongest opposition party in these regional parliaments. The elections also confirmed the left-liberal government's catastrophic decline in voter support. All three parties of the so-called “traffic light” coalition — the Social Democrats of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Greens, and the Liberal party — suffered painful defeats. With Scholz less than two years in office, 80 percent of Germans are deeply disaffected by his government’s performance.
The rise of AfD has the potential to alter politics in Germany fundamentally and might even impact transatlantic relationships. In the space of one year, support for AfD has more than doubled.
The main reason for this upswing is the sharp increase in irregular and illegal immigration. It reminds many people of the migration crisis of 2015–2016, when Chancellor Angela Merkel made the fatal decision to keep the borders open for an uncontrolled wave of over a million migrants, mainly young men from the Middle East and Africa. Since then, violent crime has risen, and integration has failed. The majority of migrants depend on welfare benefits. Tensions are mounting, and AfD’s message of stopping the influx is resonating with more voters.
Furthermore, Germany’s economy is ailing. Once called the industrial powerhouse of Europe, the country is in recession, and there is talk again of Germany being the “sick man of Europe.” Its GDP growth rate is at the bottom of all G7 economies this year. Add to this record high inflation and energy prices since the Ukraine war, which have together depressed real wages. All this fuels support for AfD. This rise of AfD is astonishing, given the multiple headwinds to the party by the liberal establishment and corporate media. The right has become “normalized” — much to the chagrin of liberal elites.
“Just what is an APOSTLE?”
Today we find the Church of God in a “wilderness of religious confusion!”
The confusion is not merely around the Church – within the religions of the world outside – but WITHIN the very heart of The True Church itself!
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