Alternative for Germany – Alternative for Roma?

East Germany after the 1 September elections in a nutshell: the three governing parties in Germany (Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals) received totally between 10 and 13% of the vote in Thuringia and Saxony, a disastrous result, while the AfD received over 30% of the vote there and became first political force in Thuringia and second in Saxony, its best ever performance. Ironically, the electoral victory of the AfD in Thuringia coincided with the 85th anniversary of the start of the World War Two. The people who voted for the far-right AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) and the far-left BSW (Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht) make up almost 50% of the vote, mostly young people, who disagree with current migration policy of Germany, according to sociologists and analysts. Despite having studied or worked with migrants these young voters reject the concept of multiculturalism which raises many questions about the future coexistence of different ethnicities, cultures and religions in a Europe that is expected to become increasingly diverse.

What is to be expected next?  A turn in the attitude of the mainstream political parties in Berlin (and Brussels) towards migrants and minorities. They have to adapt to the new reality in order to survive the competition with the anti-immigrant and racist parties which perform much better at elections. In this spirit was the statement of the German ambassador in London after the elections (https://shorturl.at/TAgFd):

“We must stop calling the voters neo-Nazis. These are people who protest with their vote. So we have to take this seriously, and we have to try to address that.”

What will all this mean for the millions of politically underrepresented Roma people in the EU? In 2017, “Welt am Sontag” published a statement by the AfD co-chairwoman Alice Weidel, made in 2013 in an email immediately before the establishment of the AfD. She wrote in the email that the Roma are a “culturally alien” people (kulturfremde volk) who should be seen in the same light as the Arab migrants arriving from outside Europe (https://shorturl.at/3LW3l). The exact quote translated from German reads as follows:

“The reason why we are being flooded by foreign peoples such as Arabs, Sinti and Roma etc. is the systematic destruction of civil society as a possible counterweight to the enemies of the constitution by whom we are governed. These pigs are nothing more than puppets of the victorious powers of the Second World War and have the task of keeping the German people down by inducing molecular civil wars in the urban centers through foreign infiltration”.

Source: „Volksverpetzer“  https://shorturl.at/yDkH3

On the basis of this statement and the existing practices in some Eastern European countries it can be assumed that once politicians with anti-Roma views take their seats in European and national institutions, they are likely to look for a way to use already adopted EU policies and available EU funds to justify their own claims that Roma are “inadaptable” and even “dangerous” for the national security of European states. Hence, there is a great risk that the Roma issue be reframed as a “migrant issue” or “refugee issue” in near future. The precedent is there: the deportations of Roma refugees in Germany back to Kosovo in the 2000s; the deportation of Bulgarian and Romanian Roma from France in 2010 in violation of the EU law. And the intention is also there – the 2023 Potsdam meeting on which a plan for “re-migration” (deportation) of foreigners and non-assimilated German citizens was discussed by representatives of AfD, CDU and extreme-right organizations from Germany and Austria (https://shorturl.at/Xxn2A).

If the organizations claiming to speak for the Roma in Europe keep stepping back from their commitments and keep trying to appease governments leaning towards fascism, this could turn Roma into an easy target for the far-right because unlike other minority and migrant communities in Europe, who can possibly rely on help from their mother-countries populated by people of the same ethnicity and culture, the Roma cannot rely on anyone – they are a minority everywhere. Thus, Roma appear as if they are trapped in Europe without much alternatives at a critical moment when the anti-Roma forces are gaining momentum and the former “friends of Roma” rethink their priorities. For example the “Roma Foundation for Europe” has declared on its website in August 2024 that their “ambition is not to focus on the EU’s Roma policy, which has become isolated and marginal” but on other issues, namely, the economic recovery of the Western Balkans, the reconstruction of Ukraine and the green and digital transitions (https://shorturl.at/IcrXR).

But if organizations with the words “Roma” and “Europe” in their name abdicate their responsibilities towards Roma in the EU, when parties like the AfD already dream of taking over Berlin and Brussels, then who will stand up for Roma in the European Union? A Union that in the near future may find itself dominated by politicians for whom the Roma are an alien people who do not belong in Europe. After so many years of “integration” the Roma in Europe proved unprepared to face the fascist mob. Will they not find themselves in the same position as 85 years ago? Then it would mean a complete failure of the Roma elites – for the second time in history. And what will they say next? We did not understand, we did not know what was going on. Again? What happened to the promise – “Never Again”?

Those who believe that their national citizenship and constitutionally guaranteed rights protect them from the far-right parties should consider the following questions: What would happen if the winner of the German federal elections scheduled for September 28 next year turns out to be the AfD, which promises “re-emigration” of the people who have not assimilated enough into German culture? Let’s say the majority of Germans will not allow it, what would stop other countries in Europe with a much fragile democratic and civic culture from adopting these ideas? The situation in Eastern Europe is appalling, although the leading media in the West are not talking about it. It is enough for a person to enter the Roma groups on Facebook, where he can see videos taken with a mobile phone, how Roma are not allowed in swimming pools and restaurants, how they are treated by the police and doctors. And when in the background of all this someone says that it is more important for them to focus on digital and green transitions, it reveals a major divergence in goals, priorities, values and interests.

After the election results in Thuringia and Saxony we are already in a different Europe, and more and more people from minority, migrant or refugee backgrounds will start realizing this and feel more insecure and concerned about the future of their children. Because what is happening in East Germany is by no means an isolated case, but an indicator of the general trend, which was also clearly seen in the European elections in June. And this requires a reorientation from the social, health and educational problems of the “marginalized groups” to the topic of the future of Roma in Europe. Because the alternative for Germany, if the AfD comes to power, is clear but the alternative for Roma, in such a case, remains unclear.