ALTERNATIVE FOR GERMANY (AfD) AND RUSSIA

Position

Die historischen und wirtschaftlichen Verbindungen mit Russland gebieten einen gegenseitigen Interessenausgleich, der dem Wohle aller europäischen Völker dient. Nur unter Einbeziehung Russlands ist eine stabile Friedensordnung in Europa denkbar. Die gegen Russland verhängten Sanktionen sehen wir als nicht zielführend an. Die AfD setzt sich für deren Abschaffung und eine Normalisierung der Beziehungen mit Russland ein. Wir befürworten eine verstärkte Zusammenarbeit mit der Eurasischen Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft und unterstützen die Erweiterung der bestehenden Gas-Pipeline in der Ostsee (Nord Stream 2) zwischen Russland und Deutschland unter Berücksichtigung der Versorgungssicherheit der mittelosteuropäischen Länder. Dadurch wird unsere Gasversorgung und die unserer europäischen Partner auf eine breitere Basis gestellt.

Background

‘Alternative for Germany’ (Alternative für Deutschland, AfD), was founded by Eurosceptics in 2013, and emerged in its current political shape in 2015. It has become a notable political force in German politics within a short space of time.The desire to establish close cooperation with Russia was part of the AfD’s strategy almost from the moment the party was founded. Back in 2013, AfD became the first modern German political force to assume a Prussian-Bismarckian vision of Europe in its foreign policy. Its manifesto of that year suggested Germany take inspiration from its 19th century ‘Reinsurance Treaty’. This convention of 1887, which was a kind of historical forerunner of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, actually provided for the concerted actions of the two empires in order to divide spheres of influence on the continent. In contemporary Germany, the idea of ​​reviving the ‘former German power’ in an alliance with Russia has long been plying in political circles to the right of CDU, but was announced at the federal level only after the emergence of the AfD.

Control over Europe ‘for two’ without the ‘Washington and Brussels dictats’; a strong national state; the rejection of globalisation and multiculturalism; a geopolitical revenge – all these postulates are something that the Kremlin and AfD have in common. Not surprisingly,AfD leaders, readily acknowledge  Crimea as a ‘primordially Russian territory’, support the split of Ukraine and emphasise that the ‘activation of cooperation’ between the EU and Ukraine should take place only in consensus with Russia. For the AfD, the former Soviet republics are the ‘legitimate’ zone of Moscow’s interests.

In this context, sanctions against Russia look like a misunderstanding that prevents fruitful cooperation. For the AfD sanctions are considered morally unacceptable.

Support for the abolition of anti-Russian sanctions is only part of the economic agenda in relations between AfD and Russia. AfD has 25,000 members, many of them entrepreneurs. The leadership of AfD manages to establish close contacts with business circles and lobbying organisations in Germany.

Support for the abolition of anti-Russian sanctions is only part of the economic agenda in relations between AfD and Russia. AfD has 25,000 members, many of them entrepreneurs. The leadership of AfD has managed to establish close contacts with business circles and lobbying organisations in Germany e.g. the influential Association of Family Business Owners, the prestigious Friedrich A. von Hayek Society (a closed organisation of well-known entrepreneurs and scholars ). In August 2017, the AfD faction in the Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt organised the ‘Congress on Russia’. Among the speakers was Hans-Jörg Müller, the head of the party’s Medium-sized Entrepreneurship Forum  talked about the self-destruction of the German industry due to the sanctions against Russia.