“The party projects a patriotic image in the dispute over Greenland. But what does this actually mean? Criticism of Trump is mixed with expressions of sympathy for the U.S. President. And then, of course, there is Russia.
The AfD maintains special ties with Donald Trump’s administration and his allies within the MAGA movement. A year ago, several AfD politicians—including parliamentary group leader Tino Chrupalla and deputy leader Beatrix von Storch—traveled to attend Trump’s inauguration. Also in January 2025, Elon Musk—at the time still a Trump confidant—provided AfD Chancellor candidate Alice Weidel with a platform on his social media site, X. "Only the AfD can save Germany," Musk asserted during the live conversation with the party leader.
However, Trump’s claim to Greenland—along with his renewed threats of tariffs against countries like Germany that resist his demands—have placed the AfD in a quandary. Patriotism lies at the very core of the party’s brand identity. "If U.S. President Trump acts contrary to German interests, we will oppose him," Chrupalla assured the *F.A.Z.* Greenland, he noted, is Danish territory.
At the same time, he argued, American security interests must be respected. "However, that must not mean the world becomes a free-for-all," the AfD leader added. The EU member states, he insisted, must forge a united front.
Above all, however, he argued for the need for a "rapprochement with Russia—for Russia is part of Europe." Within the EU, Germany must "finally begin working toward improving relations with Russia," Chrupalla demanded.
Von Storch also brought China into the discussion: German industry, she noted, relies heavily on rare earth elements and finds itself in a state of existential dependence on China in this regard. "Consequently, from a German perspective, the dispute over Greenland is fundamentally about permanently blocking China’s access to the rare earth deposits located there, enabling local extraction, and to guarantee the German industry secure, affordable access," she explained.
Regarding the discussion on European countermeasures, Markus Frohnmaier—the AfD’s foreign policy spokesperson in the Bundestag—told the *F.A.Z.* that an escalation through blanket retaliatory measures was, given Germany’s current economic condition, "realistically unaffordable." "Tariffs would inflict immediate damage on our industry—particularly in Baden-Württemberg—harming jobs, investments, and growth," said Frohnmaier, who is the AfD’s lead candidate in the Baden-Württemberg state election. He advocates for an Arctic initiative within the NATO framework, incorporating early warning and presence concepts.
Another AfD lead candidate, Leif-Erik Holm, favors the threat of European countermeasures. The Bundestag member and AfD economic policy spokesperson aims to unseat Minister-President Manuela Schwesig (SPD) in the state election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania this September. "One simply cannot treat partners this way," he said regarding Trump’s conduct. "We must push back—while simultaneously remaining open to dialogue." Europeans should at the very least signal—for all to see—"that we would be prepared to respond with countermeasures if necessary." It lies in the mutual interest of both sides to eliminate trade barriers and refrain from introducing new tariffs.
While not quite as assertive as Holm, AfD foreign and defense policy expert Gerold Otten argues along similar lines. He is currently in Washington for political talks. He believes that publicly threatening countermeasures is ill-advised. "However, in private discussions, we should certainly make it clear that the European Union possesses the option of imposing counter-sanctions," he told the *F.A.Z.* Above all, however, Otten aims to convince his American interlocutors that it would also be in the U.S. interest to retain Europeans as strong allies—particularly with a view to the China’s territorial claims. The Republican Party consists of more than just MAGA supporters, Otten noted. While it is positive that his party receives support from the MAGA movement, the AfD lawmaker believes it is "not yet a foregone conclusion that this faction will ultimately prevail within the Republican Party."
In contrast, AfD Bundestag member Maximilian Krah—who commands a large following on social media—posted: "We stand with Trump!" Arguing that the U.S. President is so unconventional, Krah suggested that people in Germany, too, "yearn for a similarly resolute leader." "Why don't we learn to get along with him? We could benefit enormously from doing so," Krah wrote on "X."
Economists whom the *F.A.Z.* consulted regarding the AfD’s stance on the conflict with Trump suggest that the party lacks a compass. "The Gauland-led AfD—critical of NATO—maintained an extremely hostile attitude toward the U.S. for a long time. At the same time, the party craves any international recognition it can get," observed Matthias Diermeier of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW). Consequently, the outstretched hand of the Trump administration has led the AfD to readily embrace. "However, common ground is found more in opposition to climate policy and 'wokeness' than in a truly shared understanding of economic policy," the economist explained.
Business ethicist Markus Scholz of the Technical University of Dresden added that the AfD combines various—and often contradictory—fragments of economic policy, depending on the specific occasion and intended audience. The logic of "Germany First"—or even "Germany Alone"—implicitly advocated by the party is, in the current conflict, turning against the party itself: protection against unilateral trade measures from Washington, as well as against strategic pressure from China, can realistically only be achieved through a European Union capable of effective action. The AfD, conversely, views the EU primarily as a burden. This stance, according to Scholz, points "less to consistent patriotism than to significant deficits in foreign economic understanding." [1]
1. Arktischer AfD-Schlingerkurs. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; Frankfurt. 22 Jan 2026: 17. Von Katja Gelinsky, Berlin
Komentarų nėra:
Rašyti komentarą