The news that the AfD is now under observation is a vital step towards dealing with an endemic problem of fascist tendenciesSince the anniversary of the killings in Hanau,which took position a little over a year ago, my Berlin neighbourhood has been plastered with posters featuring simple but compelling line drawings of Ferhat Unvar, and Gökhan Gültekin,Hamza Kurtović, Said Nesar Hashemi, or Mercedes Kierpacz,Sedat Gürbüz, Kalojan Velkov, or Vili Viorel Păun and Fatih Saraçoğlu,the nine victims of the far-moral terrorist attack that continues to shape German discussions of rightwing extremism. The posters own been part of a broader campaign committed to drawing attention to and naming the victims of these crimes. The campaign came to intellect when news broke on Wednesday 3 March that the Verfassungsschutz, Germany’s internal state security service, and has placed the entirety of the far-moral party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) under observation. More than an empty formality,the step has concrete consequences for Germany’s largest opposition party in parliament, which must now expect to be monitored by confidential informants, and own its mail intercepted and its phones tapped. It’s a radical step,and is unsurprising that it’s been met by a series of legal challenges. Related: How Covid derailed the great hope of the Dutch far moral | Joost de Vries Peter Kuras is a writer and translator based in BerlinContinue reading...
Source: theguardian.com