Arne Semsrott is a political activist and head of the research and transparency portal »FragDenStaat«. On March 16, he was a guest at our cultural and debate venue, the Werkraum Schöpflin, for a reading of his recently published book »Machtübernahme: Was passiert, wenn Rechtsextremisten regieren?« (»Seizure of Power: What Happens When Far-Right Extremists Rule?«). After the event, we asked him three follow-up questions.

In your current book, you describe scenarios in which far-right parties govern in Germany. That is (still) not the case. However, some of your predictions, such as the decision to deport people to Afghanistan, have already come true. How do you explain this?

Arne Semsrott: Many of the dynamics with which the anti-democratic right makes politics have precedents – whether internationally or in German history. The political developments, such as the plan to revoke the German citizenship of some people, are not fundamentally surprising. How quickly they happen, however, is. And of course, some plans are not implemented by the AfD but by other parties.
The political processes are, on the one hand, greatly accelerated by the takeover of fascists in the USA. On the other hand, the CDU/CSU in the election campaign fully focused on migration, thereby further fueling an already overheated discourse. But even on issues like the Citizen’s Income or climate protection, we see that solidarity and compassion are apparently not being highly valued right now.

After the major takeover did not happen in this federal election – what is your biggest concern regarding far-right extremism in Germany?

Arne Semsrott: Much more dangerous than the AfD is a Union or even an SPD that adopts AfD policies. My biggest concern is that democratic institutions are being attacked from within. The small inquiry by the Union parliamentary group into civil society organizations like »Omas gegen Rechts« (»Grandmothers Against the Right«) was a taste of what’s to come, I fear. Another extremely troubling development is the recent push from the CDU to abolish the Freedom of Information Act. It is one of the most effective transparency tools in our democracy because it gives all citizens the right to demand the publication of documents from authorities – whether emails, internal instructions, or contracts.

What can people do who feel powerless in light of the rising support for far-right attitudes?

Arne Semsrott: It’s perfectly normal and okay to feel powerless at first. But when you look around, you realize that many people are feeling the same way. That means: We are really a lot of people. I believe that, right now, it is particularly effective to gather around democratic cores – neighborhood cafés, cultural spaces, refugee initiatives.
Defending and strengthening these cores will be especially important in the coming years. And it is in these cores that important democratic work is being done.