German far right dallies with ‘Dexit’ from EU

As the British parliament prepares for a crucial Brexit vote Tuesday, Germany’s far right voted yesterday to break a national taboo by campaigning to quit the European Union if its demand for reforms within the bloc are not met. A party congress gathered in Riesa in Saxony state -- the Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) biggest stronghold -- voted for the demand to be included in its manifesto for European Parliament elections in May.

Aware that a vast majority of Germans remain in favour of their country’s EU membership, delegates advanced cautiously. They called for a so-called “Dexit” only “as a last resort” if fundamental reforms do not reshape the EU “in an appropriate timeframe”. But the decision marks the first time in Germany’s post-war history that a political party has dared suggest blowing up the nation’s EU membership.

European identity

Alongside the transatlantic alliance with the United States, membership in the EU project has long been a key element of German national identity, and one way the country has sought to move on from the Nazi past while defending its interests. By contrast, “AfD is trying to rehabilitate a German nationalist position” in political debate, historian and political scientist Klaus-Peter Sick told AFP. “This position is a normalisation of the nationalist right relative to what’s going on in neighbouring countries like Italy or France,” he added.

“By moving onto this territory, AfD is carrying out a test within the party and among voters to discover whether it’s a theme that can glean support.” Germany’s biggest opposition party since September 2017 elections, the AfD produced its manifesto only after intense internal negotiations. If “deep reforms” are not made, “we judge it necessary, as a last resort, for Germany to leave the EU or for the EU to be dissolved” in favour of an economic community, it declares.