AFD tries to win votes from immigrants: a sociologist classifies – News

New parliaments will be elected in the three East German federal states in September. State Parliament in Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony. The biggest winner may be the far-right AfD. The AfD is now gaining votes especially from people with a migrant background. A sociologist explains what the party’s chances of victory are.

Özgür Özvatan

Sociologist

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Özgür Özvatan is a political sociologist with a particular focus on social research, particularly integration, extremism, environmental and democratic research. He studied interdisciplinary social sciences at Humboldt University in Berlin, received his doctorate from the Berlin Graduate School of Social Sciences (PGSS), was visiting professor at the University of Melbourne and visiting professor at the University of Toronto.

SRF News: Why is the AfD trying to get the immigrant vote?

A year ago, the AfD achieved approval ratings of 20 to 25 percent: this is the normal range of votes the party can achieve among ultra-conservative voters. If it wants to become a people’s party, it should achieve more than 30 percent. It needs another five to ten percent of votes from people with a migrant background.

Which immigrants is the AfD talking about? Specifically?

There are already some groups close to the AfD: Russian Germans above all. The party also tries to reach groups of Muslim and, above all, Turkish origin. They have had a very special offer since last summer.

There is the AfD Already advertised with the slogan “Islam does not belong in Germany”?

Yes, that’s right. Also, it is not true that the AfD is trying to win over all Muslims. However, within this group there are some voters who also represent views critical of Islam because they have experienced political Islam in their own country – for example Turkey – and have developed a certain skepticism there.

When it comes to digital communication, the AfD is at least two steps ahead of the democratic parties.

You cannot reach these people through their Muslim identity – but they are still Muslims.

Immigrants voting for a party that hates immigration – isn’t that a paradox?

It doesn’t have to be ironic. We know that generational differences exist through migration research. Those who have previously migrated later adopt migration-skeptical positions because they say: I had to work hard for this, and those who come after me get things for free.

If the AfD now actively seeks the votes of people with a migrant background, does it not risk alienating its traditional voters?

This is where social media comes into play. New referral algorithms – notably TikTok – work to ensure that this message is only sent to migrant voters. This means that traditional voters are not paying much attention to this immigrant approach. In this respect, the AfD is at least two steps ahead of the Democrats.

Why aren’t the SPD or the Greens seen as parties that support the concerns of people with a migrant background?

I wouldn’t say they don’t support the cause. It’s about how they relate to it: they’ve become too lazy and haven’t moved with the times. It reaches out to people by communicating what they are doing for various diaspora communities in the digital world. There is a lot to do here.

The interview was conducted by Evan Leiber.