Analysis
In Germany and beyond, the rise of ‘freedom fascism’
This “freedom fascism” promises to combine individualism and sovereign power within the framework of a simplified, conformist and culturally homogeneous society.
A widespread doctrine which has influenced politics in Europe for many years, according to which one should move towards the center to get broader electoral support, has ended up in the dustbin of history.
It was mainly the left that believed in it, and from compromise to compromise, from about-turn to about-turn, it ended up identifying with a particularly hypocritical form of neoliberalism disguised as a reasonable interclass instrument for the common good. The destructive effects of this error are testified to by the decline of European social democracies, which is no longer possible to deny.
On the other hand, to the right of center, the fabled virtue of moderation has never taken hold, except occasionally in some opportunistic intermediate phases, especially in Italy. This is why those who expected some centrist caution from Alice Weidel in her speech at the AfD congress designating her as the candidate for chancellor were clearly rebuffed. The party's tone and programs have aligned with the racist and pro-fascist positions of the most extreme wing (der Flügel) led by Bjorn Höcke, who should have been a liability but instead has established himself as the AfD's ideological guide.
Buoyed by the polls, unabashed support from the U.S., in search of fifth columns to destroy the European Union, and the Austrian crisis turning in favor of the radical right, Alice Weidel didn’t shy away from claiming the most extreme themes of racist and authoritarian nationalism. Starting with the “remigration” that had been the subject of the secret Potsdam meeting between AfD figures and neo-Nazis to set up a mass deportation project concealed behind this obscure neologism. The discovery of a plot to expel large numbers of foreigners, as well as German citizens of foreign origin, from Germany had brought nearly two million people to the streets against the extreme right, at the urging of the social movements and NGOs, later followed by political parties.
In essence, the AfD congress in Riesa, Saxony, did not move an inch away from the image of an all-round neo-fascist party: from armored borders to historical revisionism, from militarism to anti-Europeanism, from defending fascism to sympathies for Russian autocracy.
Nowadays, these radically anti-democratic doctrines are conveyed – in accordance with the teachings of the old and new American right, and in contrast to the totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century – through a rhetoric of freedom: freedom from Europe, from foreign influences, from censorship according to political correctness, from obligations of solidarity, from international law, from rules and barriers that would burden individuals and businesses.
This “freedom fascism” promises to combine individualism and sovereign power within the framework of a simplified, conformist and culturally homogeneous society. This propaganda narrative is wily enough to have a certain draw, as polls show. As a result, today the winning formula is the shift from the center to the right, not vice versa. And this is the approach being systematically taken up: by the centrists already governing with the right in Sweden and the Netherlands, by Ursula von der Leyen and the European People's Party, by Macron, by the CDU-CSU (but also to some extent by some on the left) in Germany, by the Austrian Popular Party with a hardcore fascist like Herbert Kickl in the running for Chancellor. However, from the centrists' point of view, there is a serious problem.
The extreme right, both the AfD and the Austrian FPÖ, as they grow and gain political weight and influence, are not moderating and softening their positions, conceding nothing to bourgeois etiquette. On the contrary, they are more becoming more and more radicalized, imposing their dogmas and showing their intentions to get their hands on Constitutions and political systems. They know perfectly well that they hold a winning hand, high-ranking accomplices and a powerful transatlantic flank (which, however, will only pursue its own interests in the end). While until now, and all the more so during the current election campaign, the German Christian Democrats have categorically ruled out any cooperation with the AfD, this is also because they know that quite a few among their constituents decisively oppose that party's positions, while others, with a more far-right orientation, might instead decide to defect to it. Meanwhile, the failure of the anti-fascist bulwark in Austria offers a troubling and concerning signal.
Nevertheless, the hundreds of thousands who took to the streets at the time against the Potsdam conspiracy still exist, and some of them – the most determined and militant part - were seen occupying the streets of Riesa on Saturday, only to be assaulted by a police force that does not seem at all impartial. The protesters offered evidence of how much and what kind of resistance the far right is encountering among German society, and their different component forces, organized and unorganized, can give a clear picture of the kind of clash that would ensue if Weidel and Höcke's neo-fascist party were to get close the levers of power. This thought should give the leadership of the CDU and CSU pause.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/lascesa-del-fascismo-della-liberta on 2025-01-14