On normalization – Ann-Katrin Müller in Der Spiegel:

‘In Magdeburg, the AfD once again demonstrated that large swaths of the party are right-wing extremist. But the roughly 20 percent of German voters who voice their support for the party in current surveys don’t seem particularly bothered by that fact. Even though party conventions don’t take place in secret, but live on television. Everyone can see that, in contrast to previous AfD party conventions, there was no sign of objection from the audience when speakers on stage delivered anti-democratic or racist speeches. Even anti-Semitic codewords triggered no obvious consternation.’

(…)

‘How can a party be so successful despite being essentially labeled right-wing extremist by German state agencies? What has the AfD done right in recent years to boost its support among the country’s voters? And who is guiding the party’s strategy? One thing is clear: The radicalism on display last weekend in Magdeburg is intentional. Maximilian Krah even called on his party allies to refrain from moderation. People everywhere, the lead candidate said, insist that one must conform to find success. But, Krah continued, his party has chosen to shun that path, making it the "most exciting right-wing party” in Europe at the moment. The delegates in Magdeburg supported the notion.’

(…)

‘Meanwhile, the party’s radical, incendiary character has largely ceased to deter many German voters in numerous parts of the country. For years, the AfD has been attracting people who are overtly racist. And anti-Semites also seem to have found a political home in the party: A representative survey found that the AfD harbors three times as many as other German political parties do.’

(…)

‘By constantly repeating the unsayable, the party has shifted the goalposts on what is acceptable. Meanwhile, values that used to have positive connotations – like moral rectitude and charity – have been devalued. Germans eager to help those in need or stand up for minorities are regarded by the AfD as naïve ideologues. At the same time, the party has managed to trivialize scandals, such as its party donation irregularities, and play down potential PR problems, like previous connections within the neo-Nazi milieu. Taken together, the AfD has managed to normalize its own extremism.’

(…)

‘These days, Weidel and Chrupalla are fond of emphasizing their pasts in business – she as a former consultant and he as the former owner of a painting company. But the party’s initial profile – as a group of more intellectual critics of the European single currency – has long since vanished, with moderate party members having fled the AfD in droves in recent years.’

(…)

‘Yet the ideology for which Höcke and his extremist wing stand remains alive and well in the party, and it is also present in Münzenmaier’s network. The new coterie is not concerned about erecting any kind of ideological firewalls – except perhaps to protect themselves from the fringe hardliners who could stand in the way of their career advancement. Such as those party allies who generated headlines with their plans to travel to Russian-occupied Donbas in Ukraine.’

(…)

‘In 2020, when his extremist wing was officially disbanded, Höcke exulted that his movement had "historicized" itself – that it had become an essential element within the party. What is now needed, he said at the time, was an impulse that "emphasizes the party’s unity.” He also admitted that his camp "hadn’t only attracted politically competent people," but added that the AfD needed such competence.
It sounds like he meant something like the Münzenmaier Network.’

Read the article here.
Neo-Nazi milieu is not a pr-problem anymore, it might even be a recommendation. In the same way that the Trump-believers take all his indictments as a sign that he is the American messiah for this century.

Germany of course has a history of fascism, but the history is not helpful anymore. Also, parliamentary democracy might make the growth of the Afd slightly less dangerous, after all this is not Weimar.

But the fact that so many people love to play with matches while the gasoline is running freely is a sign that the pyromaniacs are busy uniting themselves – not only in Germany – and that the messiah is the supreme pyromaniac.