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Gennaio 20 2025.
 
Ultimo aggiornamento: Gennaio 21 2025
AfD from “Party of Professors” to “Party of TikTok”

The far-right in Germany is increasingly popular among young voters. The story of Jan Richard Behr

Jan Richard Behr is a 27-year-old German from Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, with blond hair, an imposing build, and small green eyes. He is majoring in Political Science and has always voted for Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), the far-right party that has been gaining support, especially among Generation Z.

Behr is the vice-treasurer of the AfD district council in Mainz. He has supported the party since its foundation in 2013, joining it in 2018 and becoming a member of Junge Alternative, the AfD’s youth group, in 2019.

He firmly believes that “Germany has many problems that only the AfD can solve”, chief among them “illegal mass immigration” and “the economic slowdown” attributed to government policies. The 27-year-old argues that there are several reasons why a young voter might choose the radical right: among these is the “failed transition from coal and nuclear power to solar and wind energy”.

On the European Union, Behr advocates for “a Europe of sovereign nations, not a superstate called EU”, reflecting the eurosceptic spirit with which the party was founded 12 years ago by university professors Alexander Gauland and Bernd Lucke.

Regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the AfD has been criticized for its ambiguous stance, with accusations of receiving Russian funding. While recognizing Moscow’s responsibility in the invasion, Behr blames the West for failing to seek a “quick and peaceful solution”, instead sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing economic sanctions on the Kremlin.

The Connection Between the AfD and TikTok

The “party of TikTok” — as the AfD is called because of its popularity on the Chinese-owned social media platform — attracts young people who, according to Behr, join the cause because they “have fewer expectations from traditional parties like the SPD and CDU, which are often voted for by older voters”.

Another point raised by Behr concerns social media, which he claims differs from mainstream media: “Young people use it more; they get news without filters or censorship, while older voters tend to trust traditional media like ARD and ZDF (publicly funded broadcasters), which are often hostile to the AfD and give little space to its representatives”, whereas “on social media, anyone can present themselves and the user can choose what to read or watch”.

‘Remigration’: The Core of the AfD’s Program

The use of Hitlerian slogans by Björn Höcke, the far-right leader in Thuringia, has sparked public outcry. However, when critics argue that the AfD is considered a post-Nazi party and unfit to govern, Behr responds by saying that “it has no connections or similarities to Nazi parties, but is a right-wing, democratic party that supports the rule of law”. For him, this is a campaign by opponents aimed at discrediting the proposals of the party led by Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla.

Recently, “one-way expulsion tickets” addressed to “illegal immigrants” stirred controversy during the election campaign, leading the Karlsruhe High Court to open an investigation for incitement to hate. At the AfD’s federal congress in Riesa on January 11-12, the concept of “remigration” — aimed at people with a migrant background — was legitimized by Alice Weidel, the party’s candidate for chancellor. For Behr, this term means “that asylum seekers should not receive free money from the German state so that they do not come to the country for economic reasons”. This concept, now part of the public discourse, is no longer taboo and provokes outrage, which Behr rejects, blaming the media for fueling the controversy.

The Reform of Junge Alternative

At the recent AfD congress, delegates approved a reform of the youth group, a decision Behr considers correct, primarily due to the risk of dissolution by the Federal Ministry of the Interior: “We need full protection by becoming an integral part of the AfD, rather than remaining an independent organization”.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz) has officially described Junge Alternative as an extremist case and a threat to democracy. However, Behr even calls for a reform of Germany’s intelligence agencies, “which focus on attacking the opposition but failed to prevent the attack in Magdeburg last December”.

“Remigration”, support for nuclear energy, and opposition to a European superstate: this, according to Behr, is the agenda of young AfD sympathizers, a phenomenon to consider in the upcoming elections on February 23.