You won't win back voters from the AfD by copying their far-right slogans | Sebastian Schäffer

Local elections are scheduled for September 6 in the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. It appears the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party will win, possibly gaining the majority needed to govern. Any attempts by the mainstream parties to stop the steady climb of the AfD in the polls have failed. Why? “You are not getting voters back that are moving to the AfD while copying their policies. This has not worked,” Sebastian Schäffer, Director of the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, told TVP World, citing a failure of a similar tactic employed by Austria’s mainstream conservatives, the ÖVP, against the local far-right, the FPÖ. “If we actually talked about the consequences, what leaving the euro (zone) would mean for Germany. But we’re not talking about this.” “And instead of attacking the AfD’s policies and actually making pro-European, sound policies, Friedrich Merz is copying some of their demands,” Schäffer said. Join TVP World’s Sally Jastrzębska and her guest as they explore the factors driving the AfD’s surge in eastern Germany, the implications of a far-right victory for German politics at both the state and federal level, and whether mainstream parties can regain support without adopting the policies of their populist rivals. Chapters: 00:00 - Intro 00:13 - AfD leads in Saxony-Anhalt 00:47 - Why support for AfD is growing 02:57 - Can AfD govern alone? 04:36 - What an AfD government could mean 06:20 - Pressure grows on Friedrich Merz 08:29 - Why CDU is losing ground 10:00 - Has Merz strengthened AfD by copying its policies? 🔴 Watch our 24/7 livestream - https://youtube.com/live/m4mVcUReR6Y Bringing you all the latest daily news and updates, TVP World is Poland's first English-language channel where you can find world news as seen from the Polish perspective and the latest news from the CEE region. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. https://tvpworld.com/   / tvpworldcom     / tvpworld_com     / tvp_world   https://www.threads.net/@tvp_world https://bsky.app/profile/tvpworld.bsk...   / tvpworld.com   https://t.me/tvp_world #Germany #AfD #Politics