Conspiracy theories flourish in a culture of anti-democratic censorship and authoritarianism
Is there a conspiracy to murder right wing politicians in Germany? That is what some people — including Elon Musk — are asking after the deaths of seven candidates for the Right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party before local elections. The hostility of the mainstream media and parties towards the AfD is well known, but covert assassinations would be unprecedented.
It is not hard to see why suspicions arose. The AfD came second in the last general election and is currently leading in the national polls. In Saxony-Anhalt, the party stands at 39 per cent and could potentially win the state presidency at the next election. Yet while support among voters is strong, they are hated by the political class or the media.
After the most recent general election, the center-right CDU entered into a coalition with the left-wing SPD, despite years of fierce criticism of each other, solely to avoid partnering with the AfD. In state elections where the AfD placed first or second, the other parties have consistently united to keep it out of power. These “grand coalitions” often have little in common beyond a shared determination to exclude the AfD. In Cologne they signed a “fairness agreement” vowing to not speak about the negative effects of migration, over fears that doing so would benefit the AfD. So much for free debate.
Some politicians would prefer to go further and ban the AfD outright. Calls for such a move have come not only from the Left but also from segments of the center-Right. Germany’s domestic security agency recently prepared a classified report attacking the AfD, which many viewed as a necessary precursor for a ban. When the report was leaked, however, it was ridiculed. The agency had almost no sources inside the AfD, and much of its “evidence” consisted of alarmist interpretations of tweets. The attempt to justify a ban was quietly shelved, at least temporarily.
The media climate is equally hostile. The public TV comedian Jan Böhmermann — think of a German Jon Stewart — recently joked about wishing for the return of the Red Army Faction, a 1970s far-Left terrorist group that murdered dozens of people. This was because the SPD are not opposed enough, in his view, to milquetoast attempts by the CDU to reduce immigration. The same comedian has previously targeted Right-wing YouTubers, harassing their families and friends into publicly condemning them. For many, such taxpayer-funded mockery crosses the line from satire to state-funded bullying.
It is understandable why the deaths of seven AfD candidates before local elections raised suspicions
AfD politicians have also faced the most physical violence of all parties. Frank Magnitz, a member of the AfD, was hit in the head in 2019. The suspect was never identified because it happened at night and there were no witnesses or CCTV. Party co-leader Tino Chrupalla was stabbed with a needle in 2023, an incident dismissed by some media outlets because the needle was not proven to contain poison. Yet the intent was obvious, and it is hard to imagine such an attack on another party leader being minimised in the same way.
So it is understandable why the deaths of seven AfD candidates before local elections raised suspicions. Critics, however, point out that with thousands of candidates running, seven deaths is not beyond the realm of probability. Candidates from other parties have also died during this period, and no clear evidence of foul play has so far emerged. It is also unlikely that the same German spooks who couldn’t even infiltrate spies into the AfD for their report can nonetheless operate a covert assassination programme.
The bigger issue may be perception. Because the AfD is constantly branded as a threat to democracy which needs to be shut down, its members and supporters are quick to interpret any misfortune as part of a conspiracy against them. This is also fuelled by the many small acts of persecution. Antifa have covertly photographed AfD politicians meeting with other politicians and journalists, so they can then shame them in public out of doing so again in future. A church volunteer was even removed from his position simply for associating with an AfD politician.
At the root of the AfD’s rise is immigration. Unlike the other parties, the AfD insists on sharply restricting asylum and migration, which their lead in the polls shows is a concern shared by many Germans. Opponents equate these stances with Right-wing extremism or even Nazism, even though the party leader is a lesbaian whose partner is of Sri Lankan extraction. Stories of violent crimes committed by asylum seekers, such as the recent case of an Iraqi migrant, who should have been deported but was not and who now stands accused of pushing a Ukrainian refugee aged 16 to her death onto train tracks, reinforce public anger.
If mainstream politicians want to protect German democracy, they should seek to beat the AfD at the ballot box. Attempts to ban the party erode public faith in democratic institutions. Most recently the Supreme Court has been brought into disrepute by the SPD’s attempt to appoint a far-Left judge, which was widely seen as another precursor to another attempt to use lawfare to ban the party. The more citizens come to believe that politics is rigged, the more they will turn to conspiracy theories, like these claims about local politicians being murdered.
