AfD: the party breaking the 'Nazi' mold with migrant candidates

AfD and the label that doesn't match its ranks

In Germany in 2024, the 'Nancy' label has become, according to those taking part in the debate, the off switch of political debate. The AfD, the party that has risen most in the polls, has carried that stigma since its founding. But when you look at the party's roster, the mold cracks: a Nigerian woman, a Congolese man, a Beninese man, a Vietnamese man, a Kurdish woman and a deputy chair of its youth wing of Pakistani origin. All of them, according to the party's own figures, came to Germany as immigrants, and some left Sarracin.

The most cited case is that of Catherine Schmiedel, a Nigerian who has lived in Germany since 2009, is a member of the AfD and has been photographed with Björn Höcke. Her country of origin, Nigeria, is the scene of religious persecution against Christians. For critics, her presence is the exception that proves the rule. For defenders, it is proof that the party is not racist.

The Italian precedent: Tony Iwobi and the Lega

The same pattern repeats in Italy. Tony Iwobi, born in Nigeria, arrived in the country penniless, became a businessman and was a member of Salvini's Lega, even back when the party was separatist under Bossi. In 2018 he ran for the Senate and Mario Balotelli criticised his candidacy. The paradox: Balotelli had spent half his career refusing to sing the Italian anthem.

In Lombardy, the first black female mayor was Sandy Cane, elected in 2009 in Viggiù (Varese) for Bossi's Lega. It was not a laboratory experiment: she won at the ballot box. The fact rarely makes the evening news.

Why the label works as a weapon

The 'Nancy' label is not an analysis, it is a weapon. Once you are branded with it, there is no need to rebut you. Germany's historical guilt is the most profitable cargo there is: anything that smells of national sovereignty gets thrown into the same sack as 1933. While people argue about whether they are or are not Nancy, nobody talks about deindustrialisation, energy prices, the migration tap or the Brussels caste.

The mechanism is not exclusive to Germany. In Spain the same trick goes by the name of 'far right', 'fascist' or 'Trumpist', as convenient. Those who label do not want to persuade, they want to switch off.

The minority vote that breaks the narrative

The leader of the AfD is a lesbian and the party is the most voted-for by the LGBTQ community in Germany, according to the figures cited in the debate. An ex-Muslim cannot be dismissed with the textbook 'racist far-right' line. A black person or a lgtb person on the right is not showered with racial insults, but with accusations of betrayal: 'sell-out', 'self-hating', 'they don't really count as X'. Plantation logic: if you are a minority, your vote belongs to us.

The pattern repeats with Iwobi, with Cane and with Höcke. When a black person is on the left, they are living proof of diversity. When they are on the right, they become 'the black one of'. The membership card changes, not the colour.

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On this material, the debate about the AfD is not settled on the ground of ideas, but on the ground of labels. And labels, like stigmas, are worn until someone looks at the roster.