Democracy Defenders Rally In Germany To Ban AfD

Rechtsextremisten greifen unsere Demokratie an. Wir alle sind gefordert, deutlich Stellung zu beziehen: für unser demokratisches Deutschland. Und für unsere mehr als 20 Millionen Freunde, Arbeitskolleginnen und Nachbarn, die eine Migrationsgeschichte haben. #Kanzlerkompakt pic.twitter.com/Cs1Dj69TwM

— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) January 19, 2024

The Democratic Ticket pic.twitter.com/sK8lqBZfCo

— Eli Valley (@elivalley) January 19, 2024

This is a struggle between democracy and autocracy.

In Ukraine, Zelensky has banned his opposition, refused to hold national elections, banned churches and incarcerated and killed dissidents like Gonzalo Lira. In Brazil, Bolsonaro has been banned from office for 8 years. In Belgium, Vlaams Blok was banned years ago. In Greece, Golden Dawn and its successors have been banned. In Poland, the new PM Donald Tusk has been arresting his nationalist opposition. Both Marine Le Pen and Éric Zemmour in France have been put on trial multiple times.

Here in the United States, Donald Trump has been arrested four times and faces 91 felony charges and the biggest question of the year is whether the country can handle Trump being either disqualified from office or convicted and sent to prison. We have never tried imprisoning the Republican presidential nominee. It is part of a global trend of Democracy Defenders turning toward authoritarianism.

BBC:

“Germany is wrestling with a potentially explosive debate over whether to ban the far-right party Alternative for Germany, or AfD.

Germans have been shocked by revelations that senior figures attended a meeting where mass deportations were allegedly discussed.

A growing backlash has sparked large protests and public condemnation.

The AfD, which continues to poll second nationally, says it’s being scandalously smeared by opponents. …”

CNN:

“Berlin (CNN) — Huge crowds of protesters are set to descend on cities in Germany this weekend, as demonstrations calling for a ban on the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) gain momentum.

Tens of thousands have already braved sub-zero temperatures this week to protest against the party, after it emerged senior AfD members discussed a plan to deport migrants en masse in revelations that have been compared to the Nazi era.

Protests of up to 30,000 people have already taken place in cities including Berlin, Leipzig, Rostock, Essen and Cologne. Demonstrators gathered outside the capital’s redbrick town hall on Wednesday holding placards reading “Nazis out” and chanting slogans against far-right AfD politician Björn Höcke. …”

New York Times:

“Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in protest against the far-right party Alternative for Germany, known as AfD, in recent days. Legal scholars are discussing whether the party can be banned. Political leaders are warning of a fundamental threat to society.

“I will say it clearly and harshly: Right-wing extremists are attacking our democracy,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in his weekly video message to Germans on Friday. “They want to destroy our cohesion.” …”

Everywhere you look Democracy Defenders in the West have grown tired of liberalism and democracy. Why not just arrest, disqualify or ban the opposition? Why not just censor and fire those people to shut them up? Why not just weaponize the “intelligence community” against them?

If Trump gets back into power, he could do something terrible like get us into multiple regional wars in Eurasia and launch a genocide.

Note: I think this is the first time I have ever shared an Eli Valley cartoon here. At least in a positive way.