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Over the past few months, Germanys right wing populist party, the Eurosceptic

Alternative for Germany (AfD) has experienced an increase in its membership and following due
to the recent fallout after the refugee crisis in Germany, where over a million Syrian refugees
were granted asylum. While the idea to allow millions of refugees into Germany seemed like a
great way to institute liberal reforms and still make amends for the abhorrent treatment of Jews
in world war II, this policy now has actually backfired on Germany as many of the refugees are
jobless and have resorted to violence. The violence reached its peak when a few months ago,
after Germanys open border policy was released, there were over 1,000 complaints of rape and
sexual abuse on new year's eve in Cologne, Dortmund, and other German cities. Angela Merkel,
prime minister of Germany, is now on the back burner as her attempts to combine conservative
economics through austerity policies and liberal social reform with the open border policy is
putting Germany at risk. The AfD provides an alternative for those who oppose Merkel and the
status quo. The main tenets of the AfD are a disapproval of the Eurozone, anti immigration and
gay rights sentiments, and a Swiss-style direct democracy. With membership of the party
increasing, particularly in Frankfurt, the downfall of Angela Merkel and Germanys austerity
policies seems imminent.
I initially discovered this issue when my dad mentioned it as he likes to talk about
European politics since he immigrated from Europe to America. I discovered more on this issue
on Slate.
Citation:Kim, Lucian. "Merkel's Dilemma." Slate. N.p., 10 Mar. 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
This issue is important to me because being someone who is liberal minded it is
important to note that liberal policies arent always beneficial. Also European social politics is
something I pay extra attention to since both my parents are former European emigrants to
America. The current issue of immigration and the rise of the right wing is important to others
and the world because it shows how cyclical history and politics can be. During world war II,
Germany participated in the one of the worst genocides in human history, the Holocaust.
However, over the past 60 years, Germany has made amends and have been striving towards
more liberal social policies, becoming one of Germanys most immigration friendly nations.
Germany is now a model nation of Europe and arguably the leader of the European Union. The
rise of the right wing after these liberal policies puts Germany at threat today to revert back to its
old, right wing social policies of the Nazi days. Some of the rhetoric of the AfD indeed seems to
at times harken back to the nationalistic speeches of Hitler, without being so overtly racist. The
situation also shows how politics requires a careful balancing of the left and right wing. The
Open Border Policy proved to be too liberal which in turn upset many German people who are
now looking towards the AfD for Right Wing sympathy. Hopefully, Merkel will be able to make
amends with the right wing nationalists and create an immigration policy that placates the Left
and Right Wing.

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