The Hunt Is On – How Germany's "Democrats" Are Systematically Destroying Their Political Opposition

There is a strange silence in Germany these days. It is the silence of the "democratic" parties – the ones that claim to be defending the constitution – when the political opposition is attacked, beaten, and systematically excluded from public life. And that silence is beginning to sound a lot like the 1930s.

History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Today, the targets are not Communists, Jews, or Roma. Today, the target is the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and its voters. And the perpetrators are not brownshirts – they are the self-proclaimed "anti-fascists," cheered on by the established parties and a media apparatus that has long abandoned any pretense of neutrality.

A Campaign of Physical Violence

Let us look at the facts. In 2025 alone, the police recorded nearly 2,000 attacks against members of the AfD. That is elected officials, local councillors, ordinary party members – who were targeted simply for their political beliefs. The number of violent attacks against politicians surged by more than a quarter in 2025, with the AfD bearing the brunt of the violence. The overwhelming majority of these attacks were perpetrated by far-left extremists.

Consider the case of Michael Meister, a member of the state parliament in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In June 2026, he was brutally attacked outside his private residence in Rostock. He felt "pressure in his back" – a stab attempt that was only stopped by a laptop inside his backpack. He sustained cuts, kicks, and punches to the face. This was not the first time. In 2021, he was attacked from behind by two individuals who shouted "You AfD Nazi pig". In 2022, unknown perpetrators slashed the tires of his vehicle for the third time in 13 months.

Then there is Bernd Baumann, the parliamentary managing director of the AfD in the Bundestag. In November 2025, his car was set on fire in Hamburg. The "Antifa" claimed responsibility. An arson attack – on a sitting member of parliament. And what was the response from the "democratic" parties? Silence.

Or the AfD politician in Lippstadt who was targeted in February 2026. Or the AfD members attacked in Göttingen in October 2025. Or the AfD constituency office in Erfurt, attacked with paint bombs and fireworks. The list goes on. And on.

Journalists Under Attack

It is not just politicians. Journalists who report positively – or even neutrally – about the AfD are also being targeted. In July 2026, on the sidelines of the AfD party convention in Erfurt, three reporters from an online portal were chased, beaten, and knocked to the ground. One of them was kicked in the head while lying on the ground. He required stitches at a hospital.

The protest alliance that had organized the blockades commented on the attacks with the words: "Fascists with a press pass are still fascists". They refused to answer questions from journalists who were not left-wing enough for them.

And what did the established parties do? The Bundestag called an emergency debate. But the only politician who refused to join the outrage campaign was a member of the Left Party. The rest of the "democratic" parties used the opportunity to once again demonize the AfD and its supporters.

The Ostracism of a Political Party

The physical attacks are just the most visible part of a broader campaign of political ostracism. The established parties have made it clear: the AfD is not to be treated as a legitimate political force. It is to be isolated, excluded, and, if possible, destroyed.

This is happening at multiple levels. Social Democrats and Greens have repeatedly called for the AfD to be banned. They refuse to sit on committees with AfD members. They block parliamentary work. They denounce AfD voters as "un-German" and "anti-democratic." They have turned a political disagreement into a moral crusade.

In the spring of 2026, the SPD and the Greens organized a "Festival of Democracy" to counter the AfD party convention. But as one commentator noted, the "festival of democracy" was really a campaign of disruption. The goal was not to celebrate democracy, but to prevent the AfD from exercising its constitutional right to hold a party convention. Young socialists, left-wing activists, and trade unionists set out to block highways and access roads. They failed – the delegates had already arrived – but the intention was clear.

The Boomerang Effect

And here is the irony: this campaign of exclusion is backfiring spectacularly.

The more the "democratic" parties attack the AfD, the more voters the AfD gains. This is not a theory. It is a documented fact. The ostracism, the moral condemnation, the physical attacks – they all feed a narrative of victimhood that resonates with millions of Germans who feel ignored, patronized, and silenced.

Every attempt to silence the AfD only proves their point – that the "establishment" is afraid of them, that the "old parties" are in a panic, and that the system is rigged against ordinary Germans.

The established parties are effectively running the AfD's election campaign for them. They are providing the AfD with endless ammunition: photos of burned cars, videos of beaten journalists, reports of blocked conventions. They are turning AfD members into martyrs and AfD voters into a persecuted minority.

A Dangerous Precedent

Germany is not yet 1935. But the trajectory is troubling. The "democratic" parties are so determined to destroy the AfD that they are willing to undermine the very democratic principles they claim to defend. They are tolerating – and in some cases, encouraging – violence against political opponents. They are excluding a legally elected party from the political process. They are creating a climate of fear in which millions of citizens feel they have no voice.

This is not how democracy works. Democracy means debating with your opponents, not silencing them. It means protecting the rights of all citizens, not just those who agree with you. It means accepting that sometimes, the voters will choose someone you do not like – and that is their right.

The established parties in Germany have forgotten this. They have convinced themselves that the ends justify the means – that any measure, however extreme, is justified in the fight against "right-wing extremism." But in doing so, they are becoming the very thing they claim to oppose: authoritarians who cannot tolerate dissent.

A Wake-Up Call

There is still time to change course. But it requires honesty – a recognition that the current strategy is not only morally wrong but politically disastrous. It requires courage – a willingness to engage with AfD voters as fellow citizens, not as enemies. It requires humility – an admission that the established parties have failed millions of people, and that the AfD is not the cause of that failure, but a symptom of it.

The silence of the "democratic" parties in the face of violence against the AfD is deafening. And it is a silence that will cost them dearly – in votes, in credibility, and ultimately, in the survival of the democratic order they claim to protect.

Written by Sandy van Dongen sandy.vandongen@alpineweekly.com