View from Saxony: Why the far-right AfD is surging in eastern Germany

MT2G5K Germany,Berlin-Mitte, 27th May 2018. AFD 'Future for Germany' demonstration. AfD supporters met at the Central Station to protest against Government policy. The right wing anti-immigration party protesters marched to the Brandenburg Gate where they were challenged by counter protests organised by left wing political groups, Berlin Clubs, DJs and 'The Many' Artists' and actors' association. The counter 'Stop the Hatred' demonstrators oppose right-wing extremism and stand for democracy and a diverse Society. Credit: Eden Breitz/Alamy Live News

In early August, as campaigning for this week’s elections in the German state of Brandenburg intensified, a campaign poster began to appear on lamp posts and tram stops. It featured an image of former German chancellor Willy Brandt and his famous slogan, “Dare to be more democratic!” Printed below Brandt’s image were the words: “We’re writing history!”

The poster belonged to the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD). Brandt was West Germany’s chancellor between 1969 and 1974, and was also leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which immediately accused the AfD of co-opting Brandt’s democratic legacy for anti-democratic ends. Speaking to the Berlin daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, the former SPD president of the Bundestag, Wolfgang Thierse, labelled the poster a “gross abuse and simply obscene”.