In a recent interview, the Federal Chair of the Young Liberals, Franziska Brandmann of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), expressed concerns that a potential success of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) could increase the chances of a left-leaning federal government. According to Brandmann, the bourgeois parties must tell the AfD voters who still can be reached that their voting behavior is likely to lead to a left-leaning government, which is the opposite of what they desire.
Brandmann emphasized that those who genuinely seek a political change, moving away from the possibility of a left-leaning government and towards a politics of the center, should not vote for the AfD. It is disconcerting that the party often appears to be as right-wing as it has in a long time, and many voters are no longer bothered by this. “They either still vote for the AfD or vote for the AfD because of it” the Young Liberal Chair said.
In defense of FDP party chief Christian Lindner, Brandmann described his comments about tech mogul Elon Musk and the perceived threat posed by young men with an Arab background as not similar to those of the AfD. Brandmann argued that Lindner’s statements about Musk were primarily about the entrepreneur as a role model for bureaucratic reform, and that Musk’s later expression of support for the AfD was, of course, absurd. She noted that Lindner had also clearly distanced himself from the AfD.