to THE AUSTRALIAN
Commentary on the recent German elections is being skewed by unjust prejudice against Alternative for Germany (‘Compromise won’t come easy for Angela and her new coalition’, 28/9). Angela Merkel has not in the past offered a ‘staunch defence of democracy and Western values’; instead she has presided over a regime that trampled over the principle of intellectual freedom.
Insult terms (‘populist’, ‘xenophobic’, ‘bombast’, ‘ugly rhetoric’) are inappropriate for any party which can win 12/6% of the vote in a nation of the intelligent such as Germany. It is a pity that Merkel cannot form a centre-right alliance with the AFD and the Free Democrats; and one wonders why this obvious strategy is rejected out of hand.
NJ, Belgrave, Vic