A German Reflection on the U.S. Presidential Election

Election 2020

The work has only just begun

Let me start with a short look at the current German political system. We have a relatively new player in the political landscape, which in translation would be called Alternative for Germany (AfD).

They were founded in 2013 and were voted into parliament in the election of 2017 with an astonishing result of 12.6% in the popular vote. Considering that the current ruling party, the Christian democrats, only got 32.9% makes this election result historical. Concerning our political spectrum, it is a far-right movement. I don’t want to over-expand this here, but their tone and populistic demands are very comparable to Donald Trump in relation to our political system.

When confronted with criticism to his party, the parliament speaker of the Alternative of Germany said a remarkable thing which stuck with me ever since:

‘My party isn’t the reason for the trench in German society; We are just its display.’

This trench is certainly there and ever-growing. To name just a few bullet points:

These points, among others, put pressure on society. As over-pressure can potentially destroy a system, I think the release valve for German society might be found in the fast uprising of this relatively new political party called AfD.

I couldn’t help but translate this to America right now. Though society's problems are somehow different than in Germany, one cannot deny there is a deep trench in American society. Considering the results of this year’s popular vote and the tone of Trump’s presidency, it has only grown bigger over the last 4 years. The issues and problems which led to the last presidency are still there and maybe worse than before.

To put it clearly: Donald Trump may have been voted out of the Oval Office, but the Trump era definitely hasn’t ended yet.

As a German, I fear we have our Trump moment yet to come. I want this piece to raise awareness in my fellow Americans for there are four years of hard work coming. Let America be the land of the free and the home of the brave we admire.

My congratulations to President-elect Biden and VP-elect Harris, but the work has only just begun.

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