The Economic Causes of AfD's Rise that Podemos Ignores

The AfD Vote: An Economic Analysis Podemos Prefers to Ignore

The triumph of the far-right in Germany has once again placed Podemos in its role as a self-critical victim. Ione Belarra and Irene Montero attribute this to militarization, genocide, racism against migrants, and the destruction of social policies. However, data analysis suggests a more material explanation: the weariness of part of the electorate with policies they perceive as unfair, and the abandonment of the working class by the traditional left.

Germany and Economic Discontent

When comparing contemporary Germany with that of 26 years ago, the contrast is evident. Those who governed during those decades were not the ultras, but center parties. Welfare policies and migration management created a breeding ground for radical votes. According to one line of analysis, the vote for AfD is not so much a rejection of democracy as it is a cry for help. The underlying economic debate is palpable: those who work feel squeezed, while identity politics do not fill the refrigerator.

The Abandonment of the Working Class

The argument that the left has forgotten the workers in favor of identities is recurrent. In Spain, Podemos maintains a stable number of seats, but it suffers defeats. Montero's discourse of peace, home, and work clashes with the reality of unaffordable housing, stagnant wages, and migration concerns. Many working voters have found in formations like AfD the echo of their complaints—a complaint that is not always racist, but often based on the perception that the system has turned its back on them.

The Paradox of the AfD Leader

A curiosity that dismantles the simplistic narrative: the leader of AfD is openly lesbian and her partner is from Sri Lanka. This fact, highlighted by media like as.com, shows that contemporary far-right is not a monolith and that the categories of 'Nancy' or 'homophobic' do not always fit. This does not rehabilitate their ideology, but it does demonstrate that reality is more complex than labels. What was a uniform phenomenon in the 1930s presents today as a mosaic of sensitivities that defies old narratives.

Ultimately, while Podemos insists on explaining the ultra vote as a consequence of racism or genocide, the gap between its discourse and the perception of millions of voters will only widen. The crucial fact is this: precisely in those places where the left has been weakest, AfD has grown strongest. And that cannot be fixed with tweets.