Germany has reinstated controls at all its land borders, and Europe has hardly flinched. These checks will be “smart,” according to officials in Berlin. In other words, freedom of movement will remain, and the Schengen area will survive, just as it did through COVID. But history will note that a right-wing chancellor, Angela Merkel, welcomed refugees with open arms, while a left-wing chancellor, Olaf Scholz, moved to close the door to Islamist terrorism and “cross-border crime,” including migrant smuggling.
Since the 2016 Christmas market attack—where 12 people were killed and 48 injured in Berlin—Germany has faced a string of incidents that have deeply affected public opinion. Following attacks in Hamburg, Dresden, Duisburg, and Mannheim, the three deaths and eight injuries in Solingen in August were particularly significant. The attacker, a Syrian man, was in the country illegally. Yet the government’s shift is not solely due to pressure from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is thriving on anti-immigrant sentiment.
The Left’s radical turn to xenophobic populism
The AfD’s success in regional elections in Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg has overshadowed another phenomenon: the shift of part of the radical left toward xenophobic populism, leading to dramatic electoral gains. It’s no coincidence that Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the “Left AfD” and a Marxist, was a former leader of Die Linke, a democratic socialist political party in Germany. Her partner is a former head of the Social Democrats.
The German left is not the first to undergo this painful revision to reconnect with workers and a declining middle class. In Stockholm, the Social Democrats made a similar turn in 2022 under the leadership of Magdalena Andersson, who briefly served as prime minister. In Britain, where riots have disrupted the early days of the Labour government, an ideological shift is also underway.
Even before taking office as UK prime minister, Keir Starmer promised to reduce what he called “ultra-high” immigration. He believes that social dumping is what makes the United Kingdom so attractive to migrants, pushing the working class toward populism. It’s said that French leaders have long suggested this approach to successive Conservative prime ministers. Instead of relying solely on repressive immigration policies, Starmer is supporting the wage demands of unions, something the Labour Party under Tony Blair openly disregarded.
In France, the left remains firmly committed to its traditional stance. Attempts by former president François Hollande, former prime ministers Manuel Valls, or Bernard Cazeneuve to shift the policy were seen as betrayals, leaving lasting scars. But for how long? The recent split between François Ruffin, who left the radical-left La France Insoumise party, and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Unbowed party suggests new cracks are emerging. While La France Insoumise party has focused on an alliance between student youth and immigrant neighborhoods, Ruffin is now openly accusing Mélenchon of fostering a kind of community-based politics. Is this the populist drift of a left-wing leader in free fall, or is it a sign of a potential return to the working class, which has largely turned to the far-right National Rally? It may be too soon to tell.
Jean-Pierre Denis, a veteran journalist and editor, is the publisher of La Croix International.