Month: June 2023

The New York Times has been forced to very, very belatedly deal with something which had long been obvious and known to many independent analysts and media outlets, but which has been carefully shielded from the mainstream masses in the West for obvious reasons. 

The surprising Monday Times headline said that “Nazi Symbols on Ukraine’s Front Lines Highlight Thorny Issues of History.” This acknowledgement comes after literally years of primarily indy journalists and geopolitical commentators pointing out that yes indeed… Ukraine’s military and paramilitary groups, especially those operating in the east since at least 2014, have a serious Nazi ideology problem. This has been exhaustively documented, again, going back years. But the report, which merely tries to downplay it as a “thorny issue” of Ukraine’s “unique” “History” – suggests that the real problem for Western PR is fundamentally that it’s being displayed so openly. Ukrainian troops are being asked to cover those Nazi symbols please!–as Matt Taibbi sarcastically quipped in commenting on the report.

The authors of the NYT report begin by expressing frustration over the optics of Nazi symbols being displayed so proudly on many Ukrainian soldiers’ uniforms. Suggesting that many journalistic photographs which have in some cases been featured in newspapers and media outlets worldwide (typically coupled with generally positive articles on Ukraine’s military) are merely ‘unfortunate’ or misleading, the NYT report says, “In each photograph, Ukrainians in uniform wore patches featuring symbols that were made notorious by Nazi Germany and have since become part of the iconography of far-right hate groups.”

The report admits this has led to controversy wherein news rooms actually must delete some photos of Ukrainian soldiers and militants. “The photographs, and their deletions, highlight the Ukrainian military’s complicated relationship with Nazi imagery, a relationship forged under both Soviet and German occupation during World War II,” continues the report. 

So it’s merely “thorny” and “complicated” we are told. Below is a small sampling of the kinds of patches that appear on Ukrainian military uniforms with “some regularity” – in the words of The New York Times:

NATO itself has in the recent past been forced to delete images on its official social media accounts due to Nazi imagery being present among Ukrainian troops during photo shoots.

NATO quickly deleted a tweet yesterday that featured a photo of a Ukrainian soldier wearing the Neo-Nazi Black sun patch. Remember we’re constantly told that neo Nazis in Ukraine are an insignificant fringe and if you point to it, you’re a Putin stooge or worse. https://t.co/CPkdvl1T0b

— Rupa Subramanya (@rupasubramanya) March 9, 2022

The following line from the report says everything you need to know about the so-called “paper of record” and its one-sided and ultra-simplistic coverage of what many are finally waking up to realize is a war with a deeply complex reality (to say the least), and far from the MSM’s goodies vs. baddies Hollywoodesque narrative of Putler vs. the free world which is typical of networks from CNN to Fox to NBC…

From the NY Times: 

“In November, during a meeting with Times reporters near the front line, a Ukrainian press officer wore a Totenkopf variation made by a company called R3ICH (pronounced “Reich”). He said he did not believe the patch was affiliated with the Nazis. A second press officer present said other journalists had asked soldiers to remove the patch before taking photographs.”

Oops!

This is Schrödinger’s New York Times:

Azov, which the newspaper correctly described as a “Ukrainian neo-Nazi paramilitary organization” in 2019, is now a cuddly “pro-democracy” group of moderate rebelshttps://t.co/rz1ZgNWdB8

— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) June 5, 2023

And now we might expect some significant efforts at damage control, or even perhaps we’re witnessing the beginnings of evolving definitions and the moving of goalposts. More from NY Times [emphasis ZH]:

But some members of these groups have been fighting Russia since the Kremlin illegally annexed part of the Crimea region of Ukraine in 2014 and are now part of the broader military structure. Some are regarded as national heroes, even as the far-right remains marginalized politically.

The iconography of these groups, including a skull-and-crossbones patch worn by concentration camp guards and a symbol known as the Black Sun, now appears with some regularity on the uniforms of soldiers fighting on the front line, including soldiers who say the imagery symbolizes Ukrainian sovereignty and pride, not Nazism.

Some are writing more appropriate and apt headlines for the NYT story…

Alternate headline:

The West Has Blatantly Whitewashed Ukraine’s Nazi Elements to Fight Russia https://t.co/MTdBxZR4Ua

— Max Abrahms (@MaxAbrahms) June 5, 2023

Only very recently Ukraine’s Defense Ministry and even President Zelensky’s office was caught in the act: 

In April, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry posted a photograph on its Twitter account of a soldier wearing a patch featuring a skull and crossbones known as the Totenkopf, or Death’s Head. The specific symbol in the picture was made notorious by a Nazi unit that committed war crimes and guarded concentration camps during World War II.

The patch in the photograph sets the Totenkopf atop a Ukrainian flag with a small No. 6 below. That patch is the official merchandise of Death in June, a British neo-folk band that the Southern Poverty Law Center has said produces “hate speech” that “exploits themes and images of fascism and Nazism.”

To be expected, the Times still tries to run cover while desperately seeking to ‘reassure’ its audience by writing that “In the short term, that threatens to reinforce Putin’s propaganda and giving fuel to his false claims that Ukraine must be ‘de-Nazified’ — a position that ignores the fact that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish.”

New levels of cope indeed…

NYT inventing new levels of cope:

Nazi iconography has “meanings unique to Ukraine.”

Nazi symbols “should be interpreted by how Ukrainians viewed them, not by how they had been used elsewhere.” pic.twitter.com/eKzdPtRMZA

— Clint Ehrlich (@ClintEhrlich) June 5, 2023

But then still, the NYT concedes awkwardly, “More broadly, Ukraine’s ambivalence about these symbols, and sometimes even its acceptance of them, risks giving new, mainstream life to icons that the West has spent more than a half-century trying to eliminate.”

Authored by Kevin Stocklin via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

As 194 nations continue to work through drafts of pandemic agreements that would grant more authority to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), a body convened by the WHO, has called for a worldwide pandemic simulation to be carried out by the end of this year to test the effectiveness of the new terms before member nations sign them in 2024.

“We feel very strongly that we cannot wait for the next emergency to find out how well the pandemic accord and the IHR amendments will work; we need to know now,” Joy Phumaphi, co-chair of the GPMB, stated on May 22. “We therefore suggest that Member States, together with other key stakeholders, carry out a simulation exercise based on the draft accord and draft IHR amendments later this year, before they are finalized and adopted.”

International negotiations to centralize pandemic-related action within the WHO have been ongoing throughout this spring. They include a “zero draft” WHO pandemic accord and amendments to International Health Regulations (IHRs), as well as discussions among various WHO subcommittees, U.N. organizations, and finance arms like the World Bank. The current round of negotiations on the pandemic accord and IHR amendments have gone on behind closed doors in Geneva, but statements from some of the ancillary groups like the GPMB may shed light on the tone of the discussions.

Phumaphi said that the GPMB’s “Manifesto for Preparedness” includes three “tests” for the treaty and IHR amendments. These are whether the treaty and IHR amendments are “sufficiently powerful,” whether they “deliver equity and coherence,” and whether they “have robust mechanisms for monitoring and accountability.”

Ambassador Pamela Hamamoto is currently negotiating terms of the WHO pandemic accord on behalf of the United States. While the language of the accord and IHR revisions is often opaque and bureaucratic, analysts say the ultimate goal of the reforms is to vest more pandemic authority within the WHO and have this authority extend beyond pandemic emergencies.

“The trajectory is about centralizing power over health emergencies,” David Bell, a public health physician and former WHO staffer specializing in epidemic policy, told The Epoch Times. “It will centralize authority within the WHO, particularly in the director general, and it will broaden the scope to what they call One Health.”

Negotiations Proceed in Secret

In April, delegates from the United States agreed with a Chinese proposal that new IHR drafts would not be shared with the public. Hamamoto stated that “at this stage, I have some concern about sharing the draft to all stakeholders given where we are in the process.”

In response, several nonprofit organizations and health experts wrote a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Secretary of State Antony Blinken protesting the secrecy of the negotiations.

“The attempt to create a veil of secrecy now surrounding the substantive and technical text-based negotiations on the WHO pandemic treaty sets a dangerous precedent for norm-setting at the multilateral level,” they wrote. “It also undermines trust in the process at a time when attacks on the WHO and on the pandemic accord are increasing.”

The GPMB’s Manifesto for Preparedness states that “the success of these reforms will largely be dependent on the adoption of a coordinated, One Health approach to PPPR that involves all countries, international and regional organizations, financial institutions, and the private sector.”

PPPR is the WHO acronym for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. “One Health” refers to the broadening of pandemic response to potentially include things like farming, poverty, and climate change, which could either cause or exacerbate outbreaks, or impair peoples’ health in other ways.

“One Health is anything in the biosphere that affects human well-being in its current definition,” Bell said. Current terms being negotiated, he said, would not only broaden the scope of the WHO’s mandate but would also grant it authority to act when a pandemic “threat” is perceived, as opposed to an actual pandemic emergency.

Read more here…

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

The scheme will see participants receive £1,600 a month for two years…

Plans have been announced to trial a universal basic income (UBI) in England that would see up to 30 people receive an unconditional payment of £1,600 (€1,854) a month.

Under the scheme, which is the first of its kind in England, residents in central Jarrow, northeast England, and East Finchley, north London, will be handed the funds each month for two years, and researchers will monitor the effect the payment has on their work ethic and mental well-being.

The trial run has been organized by the progressive Autonomy think tank, which is seeking to fund the £1.6 million (€1.85 million) scheme through private donors.

The initiative is not being paid for by U.K. taxpayers and is not affiliated with the British government.

“Our society is going to require some form of basic income in the coming years, given the tumult of climate change, tech disruption and industrial transition that lies ahead,” claimed Will Stronge, Autonomy’s director of research.

“This is why building the evidence base and public engagement now is so important, so the ground is well prepared for national implementation.”

He explained that researchers were interested to note the effect the UBI payment would have on people’s mental and physical health, as well as their desire to continue working.

Recipients will be free to carry on earning their own salary if they wish and will receive the payment on top of any employment income.

“All the evidence shows that UBI would directly alleviate poverty and boost millions of people’s well-being: the potential benefits are just too large to ignore,” Stronge added.

UBI schemes have recently been piloted elsewhere in Europe, most notably in Finland where a government-backed initiative saw 2,000 unemployed citizens of working age receive a more modest €560 a month in January 2017.

One proponent of UBI is U.S. billionaire Elon Musk who believes the scheme could be an adequate response to the inevitable continuous infringement of artificial intelligence in the workplace.

“UBI means that unemployed people will be paid across the globe,” Musk told a tech summit in Dubai back in 2017.

“Machines, robots are taking over. There will be fewer and fewer jobs that a robot cannot do better,” he added.

Critics, however, consider the concept to be far too expensive to roll out nationally, would undermine productivity and prevent the government from investing in other priorities, as well as result in citizens relying even more on the state.

Op-ed authored by Ben Johnson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The head of a facility that carries out so-called “gender-affirming care” has published a study confirming that transgender surgeries do not improve mental health and make people feel lonelier than those who avoided surgical intervention altogether.

“In our study, the level of life satisfaction in transgender people was not increased in transgender people who had undergone gender-affirming surgery as compared to those who were unoperated,” says a study published Tuesday in BMC Public Health, a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

“[O]ur data indicate that transgender and gender-diverse people, who have undergone gender reassignment surgery feel lonelier” than transgender-identified people who have not elected to have surgery, finds a separate study by the same four researchers, originally published online May 11 in the journal Healthcare (Basel).

The researchers also reveal that people who identify as members of the opposite sex experienced greater isolation if they played sports. “[H]igher loneliness levels were significantly associated with … already having a gender-reassignment surgery [and] more than 4 [hours] a week of sports activities,” as “compared to no sports activity.”

The German experts collected the data informing both studies from those seeking transgender surgery at a Hamburg surgical center. The respondents were “104 transgender people who had joined self-help groups to get and share information about the gender-affirming surgeries performed at the Division [Department] of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf.” The facility carries out such common transgender procedures as “labiaplasty” and “breast augmentation,” as well as “other surgical services.”

One of the authors of both studies, Dr. Marco Blessmann, has chaired that university’s plastic surgery department since its creation in 2014.

Both studies also list co-author Katharina Grupp’s affiliation as a member of Blessmann’s plastic surgery department. (The university website refers to her as a member of another surgical department. Blessman’s department states that it collaborates with other departments.)

The most recent study finds that people who identify as transgender have lower overall life satisfaction than the general population—and young people suffering from gender dysphoria have worse mental health than older people. Blessmann, et al., found 31 percent of transgender-identifying people felt “dissatisfied” or “extremely dissatisfied” with life, while 17 percent said they were “satisfied” and just 1 percent felt “extremely satisfied.” People who identify as transgender were 1,290 percent more likely to describe themselves as “extremely dissatisfied” than “extremely satisfied” with their lives.

Additionally, “higher levels of life satisfaction were associated with higher age. Previously, authors described that transgender youth was associated with disproportionally high rates of depression, anxiety, suicidality, and non-suicidal self-injury.”

“Such factors are known to be associated with lower life satisfaction,” the authors write.

The latest study, released two days before the beginning of LGBTQ “Pride Month,” is sure to provoke conversation as states debate SAFE Acts to protect minors from the transgender industry and as internet searches for such terms as “am I gay” and “am I trans” have increased 1,300 percent in 19 years, even in the most conservative states.

The latest conclusions come as no surprise to experts. “This finding is sadly consistent with other studies,” Mary Beth Waddell, director of federal affairs for family and religious liberty at the Family Research Council, told The Washington Stand. “One study showed that the suicide completion rate for those that had undergone surgery was 19 times higher than the general population.”

A study taken in transgender-friendly Sweden concluded, “Persons with transsexualism, after sex reassignment, have considerably higher risks for mortality, suicidal behavior, and psychiatric morbidity than the general population.”

Despite those studies, members of the transgender surgery industry often insist children will commit suicide unless parents agree to submit their children to life-altering surgeries. “A common tactic was for doctors to tell the parent of a [girl], ‘You can either have a living son or a dead daughter,’” explained Jamie Reed, a far-left LGBT activist and whistleblower who worked for four years at the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Scientists have long known mental illness and gender dysphoria are correlated. “Clinical evidence suggests that schizophrenia occurs in patients with GID [gender identity disorder] at rates higher than in the general population and that patients with GID may have schizophrenia-like personality traits,” said a 2014 study. “Toxoplasma infection, reduced levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), early childhood adversity, and links with autism spectrum disorders, may account for some of this overlap.” A 2020 study found people who suffer from gender dysphoria are up to 636 percent more likely to have autism, as well.

“The only way individuals dealing with gender dysphoria will come to live happy, healthy, and authentic lives is by addressing the source of their dysphoria and pursuing healing,” Waddell told the Washington Stand. “Many of the individuals who identify as transgender do so because of trauma, abuse, adverse childhood experiences (which may or may not be traumatic), and other such reasons. Until these root issues are properly dealt with, these individuals will not be completely satisfied.”

Transgender-identified adolescents were more than twice as likely as to report childhood sexual abuse, 161 percent more likely to endure physical abuse, and 184 percent more likely to experience psychological abuse than their peers, according to researchers from the University of Pittsburgh. “Transgender adolescents (TGAs) exhibit disproportionate levels of mental health problems compared with cisgender adolescents (CGAs),” reported their 2021 study, published in the journal Pediatrics. “[R]esearchers should examine how more frequent experiences of abuse during childhood could contribute to disproportionate mental health problems observed within this population.”

The evidence shows the best thing parents can do for children questioning their biological identity is to prevent them from having permanently disfiguring surgeries or potentially sterilizing hormone injections. “Even the American Psychiatric Association, which supports gender identity ideology, acknowledges that a high percentage of children will desist from feelings of dysphoria if allowed to go through puberty naturally. This is why we need to pass legislation like the Protecting Children from Experimentation Act of 2023 and the End Taxpayer Funding of Gender Experimentation Act of 2023,” Waddell said.

“Allowing children to go through the natural transitions of youth without interference allows them to come into their own and make wiser decisions about their future.”

Via The Cradle,

The Israeli Mossad agent who died in a boat capsizing in northern Italy’s Lake Maggiore last Sunday (May 28) was there as part of “an operation against Iranian activity,” Haaretz newspaper revealed, citing a report by Hebrew media outlet Channel 12.

“The boat full of Israeli and Italian intelligence agents was actually a dinner celebrating the mission’s success,” Haaretz wrote. The dead agent “was working in the area as part of an operation targeting Iranian non-conventional weapons capabilities.”

The drownings took place on May 28. The boat reportedly capsized due to bad weather, with authorities investigating whether it may have been carrying too many people.

Israel initially only acknowledged that the man was a retired security forces member, and kept his identity secret. His role in the Mossad was soon made clear.

On June 1st, a former Israeli spy chief revealed in an interview that the man was “not there for vacation” but was instead on the job.

An Italian investigative report also revealed that across the lake where the incident happened was a “heavy” Russian presence, adding that the Italian and Israeli agents on board may have been monitoring drone-equipment deals between Iranian and Italian firms, potentially for the Ukraine war.

The report also reveals that Erez Shimoni, the name by which the agent was identified in media reports, is a “cover name given to the deceased.”

The incident remains mysterious. According to Israeli media, the funeral service was attended by Mossad chief David Barnea and a number of disguised spy officials. Footage of the funeral released in the media was blurred, and the deceased’s name was replaced with a code letter throughout the service.

The Haaretz report comes as suspicion has been building around the narratives that Israel attaches to the death of its soldiers and intelligence officials.

Just one day ago, three Israeli soldiers were killed in an operation carried out by an Egyptian officer on the border between Egypt and Israel. The killings were under heavy gag orders by Israeli authorities for hours before the details eventually emerged.

Authored by Ian Whitfield via RealClear Wire,

The United States faces significant questions regarding the Arctic Circle and its commitments to northern security. Just as the Arctic has experienced rapidly rising temperatures, regional competition will intensify because of the region’s strategic importance. The buildup of Russian military assets along the country’s Northern coast, China’s polar trade investments, and the alliance between these nations threaten America’s Arctic interests. The security of the Arctic is inextricably linked to the safety of the United States and its allies.

Historically, the nations with claims to the Arctic have utilized collaboration and cooperation to solve competing interests in the region. However, Russia’s recent military actions have changed the dynamic of international dialogue and have forced American leaders to reevaluate their future strategy. The United States Army has taken specific steps in identifying the foundations of its Arctic Strategy and continues to revise its lines of effort. However, the organization must continue adapting its strategic approach to ensure the safety of the nation and its allies.

First, the United States Army should develop an Arctic-specific doctrine to increase survivability and lethality for its land forces. The U.S. Army has primarily focused on counterinsurgency operations and training for the past twenty years in our efforts to establish security in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army’s doctrine and training should reflect our recent shift from the Middle East region toward great power competition. Modifying existing training doctrine for future competition will increase overall unit readiness. This Army should seek input from the Army’s 11th Airborne Division, Mountain Warfare School, Marine Rotational Forces-Europe, and the Air Force’s Arctic Survival School. These organizations and institutions have operational experience in cold-weather environments and can provide lessons learned for doctrinal publications. Utilizing the experiences of other branches offers Army leaders an operational and strategic view of how their units can integrate with broader defense systems and capabilities. United States Army Training Command, commonly called TRADOC, should first analyze which doctrinal publication requires inputs for cold-weather adaptability or modification. Next, TRADOC should gather key personnel from the identified resources to develop policies and procedures to make Army units more capable in cold-weather environments.

Second, the Army should prioritize the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center-Alaska (JPMRC-AK) as a military training center. Currently, rotational training events are conducted at Fort Polk or Fort Irwin, both of which offer hot and humid training conditions not representative of the Arctic environment. The Army should consider exchanging one of these sites for the JPMRC-AK. The Department of Defense (DoD) should work with and develop rotations with U.S. Army and Air Force National Guard units to avoid additional strain and overstretch on active duty units. The Army National Guard already utilizes the eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) program, allowing teams to replicate combat training center environments in alternative locations.  Partnering with JPMRC-AK and U.S. Army Alaska would create opportunities for National Guard. This would also incentivize Guard members to pursue additional training opportunities like Mountain Warfare School as cold-weather training becomes more frequent. Using XCTC’s capabilities in conjunction with the terrain offered in the U.S. Army Alaksa’s training areas will provide a more robust training experience for Soldiers and Airmen in the National Guard, giving the DoD greater force projection.

With this expansion of JPMRC-AK, the Army and other military branches should work on hosting joint training operations with its NATO partners. In 2022, the U.S. Army took part in NATO’s Exercise Cold Response with 27 countries hosted in Norway. Next March, U.S. Forces will take part in the largest joint-cold weather training exercise called Nordic Response 2024. American soldiers from across all grades and ranks share the desire to work with NATO allies. However, the Army and broader DoD can provide more training opportunities in the United States. Creating more multi-national combined arms training programs hosted in the Alaskan winters would benefit NATO military members. Potential Russian-Chinese expansion into the Arctic affects all NATO members due to the region’s economic and military importance. The Army should take more of a prominent role in hosting cold-weather training events for its allies while also sending military units abroad to represent our nation in similar training events.

Finally, the Army should continue evolving its Search and Rescue (SAR) in coordination with the Personnel Recovery (PR) capabilities of other branches. According to the U.S. Army’s Arctic Strategy, Russia has invested an estimated $1 Billion to refurbish airfields, enhance search and rescue capabilities, and upgrade radar technology. NATO members have recognized the importance of SAR/PR capabilities and have hosted training exercises like Exercise Dynamic Mercy to promote collaboration in these sectors. However, the Army should consider implementing innovative technologies and mission-specific training to reinforce its capabilities for these operations. Using the RQ-11Raven drone to aid in SAR/PR operations and providing cold-weather SAR training for Army Special Operation units would increase unit readiness and streamline these intense missions.

Over the past decade, the DoD has increased its focus on the Arctic as adversarial nations have challenged Western interests. The Arctic will continue evolving as a complicated and intricately interwoven region with many competing goals. Army decision-makers recognize the complexities of this region and have begun developing solutions for the area. However, the Army should expand its focus by developing Arctic-specific doctrine, prioritizing cold-weather training, increasing the number of multi-nation training exercises, and refining its Search and Rescue capabilities. Providing an all-encompassing direction to the Army’s Arctic strategy now will increase the likelihood of success for future Arctic operations. Working with NATO allies and its sister branches, the Army can champion strategic concepts and objectives in the Arctic region.

Ian Whitfield is a graduate student at Georgetown University, in the Security Studies Program focusing on Energy Security and climate-related security risks. Ian is also an active duty officer in the U.S. Army.

This article represents the views of the author and not that of the Department of Defense or Georgetown University.

Authored by John Cody via Remix News,

The AfD is now tied for second place in the country, which has prompted a near meltdown of the country’s political and journalistic class…

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) continues its steady march higher in the polls, now reaching an all-time high of 19 percent in the latest INSA poll conducted for the Bild newspaper.

The results have sent yet another “shockwave” through the political and media establishment, with politicians from both the left and the moderate Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) fiercely debating what is behind the rise of the AfD. The party is known for its strict anti-immigration stance, opposition to sanctions on Russia as well as German weapons being sent to Ukraine, and criticism of green energy policies being promoted by the left-liberal ruling government.

However, the term “shock” being used to describe the party’s rise in the polls is being rejected by the AfD’s Bundestag faction leader, Alice Weidel.

“Every three days, the Bild has to announce an ‘AfD survey shock.’ That’s not a shock, that’s called democracy. And it shows that people have finally had enough of paternalism, cost increases and asylum chaos. Germany needs new elections!” wrote Weidel.

Alle 3 Tage muss die #Bild einen neuen “#AfD-Umfrageschock” verkünden. Das ist kein Schock, das nennt sich #Demokratie. Und es zeigt, dass die Menschen endgültig genug von Bevormundung, Kostensteigerungen und #Asylchaos haben. #Deutschland braucht #Neuwahlen! pic.twitter.com/EdtXF5WFUL

— Alice Weidel (@Alice_Weidel) June 3, 2023

Bild has routinely published headlines, along with other newspapers, documenting growing alarm in the German political establishment over what has been the steady rise of the AfD in the polls, especially in the east of Germany. Now, according to the latest INSA poll, nearly one out of five Germans would vote for the party that every major party has vowed never to form a coalition with. A poll from state broadcaster ARD showed, just a week before, that the AfD had reached 18 percent. The new raft of polls showing the AfD hitting new highs shows the party’s growth is no fluke.

Sonntagsfrage zur Bundestagswahl • INSA/BamS: CDU/CSU 27 % | SPD 19 % | AfD 19 % | GRÜNE 13 % | FDP 9 % | DIE LINKE 5 % | Sonstige 8 %
➤ Übersicht: https://t.co/MO5RyMFkPu
➤ Verlauf: https://t.co/mJRVJUWFRX pic.twitter.com/6LaKGugcSF

— Wahlrecht.de (@Wahlrecht_de) June 3, 2023

The party is not only at 19 percent, but is actually tied for second place in the country with the ruling SPD. Weidel is now repeatedly calling for new elections, pointing to an ARD poll showing that only 20 percent of Germans are satisfied with the federal government, while 79 percent are dissatisfied.

 “The dwindling approval of the traffic light government shows very clearly that the Germans are no longer willing to accept that their interests are disregarded by politicians,” said Weidel.

Germany Hits Recession Under Left-Liberal Government

Germany’s main political parties have now taken turns blaming each other for the continued rise of the AfD. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has labeled the AfD “the bad mood party” and says that when the situation improves in Germany, which he claims it will, AfD’s support will drop.

Weidel responded that when Scholz describes the AfD as “the bad mood party,” it shows the “complete unworldliness and aloofness” of the SPD leader. She said the AfD has sustainable concepts in the areas of energy, social affairs and migration. 

“The voters, who are not unsettled by clumsy defamation of the only opposition force, see that too,” she said.

Meanwhile, the secretary of the SPD parliamentary group, Katja Mast, said: “The AfD was, is and will not be a ‘normal’ party. They want to undermine our democracy and tolerate right-wing extremism. It fights our democracy where it can.” She added: “We must not be driven crazy by the AfD agitators and certainly not allow ourselves to be distracted. All democrats have one task — to take a firm stand against these democracy-destroyers and not adopt their methods.”

The CDU has offered what has been described as a “simplistic” message, claiming efforts to make the German language “gender-neutral” is driving support for the AfD.

“With every gendered newscast, a few hundred more votes go to the AfD. Geographical language and identitarian ideology are no longer just quietly rejected by a large majority of the population. They are perceived as intrusive,” wrote CDU leader Friedrich Merz.

„Mit jeder gegenderten Nachrichtensendung gehen ein paar hundert Stimmen mehr zur #AfD. Gegenderte Sprache und identitäre Ideologie werden von einer großen Mehrheit der Bevölkerung nicht mehr nur im Stillen abgelehnt. Sie werden als übergriffig empfunden.“ ™ #MerzMail

— Friedrich Merz (@_FriedrichMerz) June 3, 2023

However, the Welt newspaper, which is usually seen as pro-CDU, has rejected this assertion, writing that the country’s mass immigration problem is at the core of AfD’s growth.

“CDU leader Merz received widespread criticism for his Twitter statement on gender language as driving votes for the AfD. Welt author Thorsten Jungholt does not see gender as the main cause, but migration policy,” wrote the publication.

Merz has also reiterated that his party will continue to rule out all cooperation with the AfD.

The CDU, however, is the party responsible for the era of mass immigration under Chancellor Angela Merkel. This reality may provide the party with an incentive to avoid the issue as much as possible, especially when addressing the AfD party, which takes a far more hardline position on immigration than the CDU.

“A small tip for Merz, Lang, Scholz and company. It is not gender topics,” wrote one user. He then posted two links to articles involving knife crime.

Werbung für die AFD ?

Ein kleiner Tipp für Merz, Lang, Scholz & Co :

Es ist nicht das Gendern ! pic.twitter.com/YoDM9zPUCM

— Mixe D (@MixeD47) June 4, 2023

Merz also appeared on ZDF and ARD and labeled the AfD as “xenophobic” and “anti-Semitic,” with AfD’s Weidel responding that it is “encouraging to see that constant attacks on the AfD” cannot shake the party’s support among the population “and the continuously growing trust in our political work.”

She added: “No political campaign by the old parties will keep us out of the political debate. We will continue to do everything we can to ensure a safe, prosperous and free Germany.”

As Remix News reported last week, there are a number of key issues that are likely contributing to the growth of the AfD, and immigration is one of them:

Germans are becoming increasingly receptive to the AfD’s positions on mass immigration as the left-wing government moves to liberalize immigration laws and naturalize millions of foreigners as German citizens, a move that would greatly benefit these left-wing parties at the polls. Germany has seen record population growth, with nearly 1.5 million migrants arriving in 2022. So far, this number shows no signs of slowing in 2023, as over 160,000 migrants arrived in the country in the first three months of the current year.

The costs of mass immigration are also slowly becoming hard to ignore, as schools become chaotic and understaffed, housing prices soar due to more competition, and serious crime involving foreigners continues to plague the country. The German government argues that mass immigration is necessary to save the country’s budget and pay for pensions, but figures show that the government plans to spend €36 billion in 2023 alone on migrants for housing, integration, and social benefits, undercutting this argument significantly.