German 'Conservatives' Copy Far-Right, Call It Strategy
Germany’s Friedrich Merz, leader of the CDU, is reportedly 'doubling down' on anti-immigrant rhetoric previously championed by the far-right AfD. Bloomberg treats this as a tactical move to 'regain the initiative.' One might wonder how 'regaining the initiative' involves adopting the platform of the very party you claim to be countering. This isn't strategy; it's legitimizing xenophobia. This
pattern—mainstream parties validating extremist talking points to siphon votes—is a well-worn path to normalizing hatred. Remember when 'concerns about immigration' became dog whistles for 'brown people are bad'? (Bloomberg, for instance, has long presented such 'concerns' as legitimate economic anxieties.) Historical precedent shows that pandering to the far-right rarely stops their rise; it
simply moves the Overton window further right, making their extreme views appear moderate.