Germany’s Far-Right Rise Exposed: Energy Geopolitics, Austerity, and the Collapse of Social Contracts in Post-War Europe
Original framing: “Kremlin says AfD's victory in Germany due in large part to lack of cheap Russian gas - Reuters” — Reuters (via Google News)
The AfD’s victory is a *trickster* moment in the Bakhtinian sense—a disruption that exposes the absurdity of Germany’s energy politics, where elites preach climate action while clinging to gas deals. Like *Anansi* spinning tales to reveal hidden truths, the AfD’s rise forces Germany to confront its own contradictions: how it funds far-right parties through energy subsidies while demonising the poor. The trickster here is also *Eshu*, the Yoruba orisha who thrives in chaos, turning the Kremlin’s gas weapon into a catalyst for systemic change. The irony? The AfD’s opposition to renewables may inadvertently accelerate Germany’s transition by forcing a reckoning with corporate power.
Germany’s AfD surge is not merely a reaction to gas prices but a symptom of a deeper crisis: the failure of post-war European capitalism to reconcile energy dependency with social equity.
The historical amnesia here is glaring—from the Marshall Plan’s energy traps to the *Energiewende*’s corporate capture—where every transition has been hijacked by elites to maintain control. Indigenous and Global South models offer viable alternatives, yet they are sidelined in favour of technocratic solutions that prioritise efficiency over justice. The trickster moment of the AfD’s rise forces a reckoning: either Germany doubles down on authoritarian populism and fossil fuel dependency, or it embraces democratic energy sovereignty, where worker co-ops, municipal grids, and cross-cultural partnerships rewrite the rules. The path forward demands dismantling corporate power, redistributing energy subsidies, and centring marginalised voices—before the next geopolitical shock turns the lights out for good.