Fascism and militarism characterise debate in the German Bundestag

Johannes Stern

In recent days, two cases have come to notice in which representatives of the establishment parties have supported neo-Nazis. In Altenstadt in the state of Hesse, Christian Democrats (CDU), Free Democrats (FDP) and Social Democrats (SPD) voted unanimously for Stefan Jagsch, a member of the neo-Nazi German National Party (NPD), as local mayor. In Hanau, SPD Mayor Claus Kaminsky awarded Bert-Rüdiger Förster, a member of the far-right Republikaner, who had formed a faction with the NPD, with the Ehrenbrief (honorary letter of recognition) of the state of Hesse.

In both cases, local representatives of the establishment parties justified their actions and praised the fascist politicians.

The CDU representative Norbert Szilasko who had voted for Jagsch in the local advisory council described the self-confessed Nazi as “absolutely collegial and calm.” Kaminsky, who had personally honoured Förster, said, “Even though we are fundamentally divided politically in our basic orientation, we can admit that the Hanau city council would be poorer without his humour, his many years of experience in local politics and his stubbornness in dealing with things.”

That such manifestations of sympathy for fascists at the local level are not a lapse but part of a far more comprehensive and dangerous development was seen in the debate in the Bundestag (federal parliament) on Wednesday. While opposition to war and fascism is enormous among workers and youth, even 80 years after the German invasion of Poland and the beginning of World War II, the ruling class is returning to its authoritarian, militaristic and racist traditions.

At the beginning of the debate, far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) parliamentary leader Alice Weidel gave one of her notorious fascist hate speeches. She railed against an “essentially green-socialist ideology that is ruining and depriving our country of its future” and promulgated racist agitation against refugees and immigrants. She declared that “every second Hartz IV [welfare] beneficiary has an immigration background” and “asylum migrants” are “disproportionately involved in crime.” “Serious crimes involving sex, robbery and homicide by immigrants” have “scarily increased.”

No one in the Bundestag opposed Weidel. On the contrary, if there were interjections, they were attempts to outflank her from the right. Several members of the Greens, CDU/CSU and SPD accused Weidel of not living in Germany. “But you live in Switzerland! Why are you talking about our country here?” exclaimed Britta Hasselmann, senior director of the Greens parliamentary group.

In fact, all parties in the Bundestag have largely adopted the refugee policy of the AfD, participate in the campaign against immigrants and, wherever they are in power in the federal and state governments, carry out brutal deportations.

The speeches in the Bundestag made it clear why the ruling class is once again relying on racism, militarism and fascism. It concerns similar questions to those that led to disaster in the 1930s. The German bourgeoisie is reacting to the deep crisis of European and international capitalism and the growing tensions between the major powers by returning to an aggressive foreign and great-power policy.

In her government statement, Chancellor Angela Merkel outlined a militaristic programme whose implementation ultimately requires the establishment of a fascist dictatorship. “Thirty years after the end of the Cold War, there are completely new paradigms in the distribution of power globally,” the chancellor said, underlining to the parliamentary deputies that Germany and Europe would need to massively upgrade their military capacity in order to defy the other powers and secure a place in the sun.