Christine Anderson: The AfD Doesn’t Radicalise—Silencing Citizens Is What Fuels Extremism

According to German MEP Christine Anderson, it is not the AfD that fuels radicalisation, but a political establishment determined to ignore the legitimate concerns and grievances of ordinary citizens.

"They are telling the people that my party would radicalise people, which is absolutely not true."

"You know what radicalises people? If you consistently ignore their legitimate concerns... On top of that, you lecture them on what bad people they are to even think that... That is what radicalises people."

"If they no longer find anyone who will voice their concerns, their wishes... then you have radicalisation. So what the AfD is actually doing—it is preventing that people will radicalise, and, you know, maybe take up means that are totally undemocratic."

"We are preventing people from doing that, because we give them a voice, and we stand up for them, and we take their concerns seriously."

The AfD was recently designated a "right-wing extremist organisation" by German intelligence, opening the door to an outright ban of the party.