State elections: In the AfD drama of ARD and ZDF, a man does the best job

The AfD has changed Germany. Now it is time for Germany to change the AfD. Thuringia's top candidate Björn Höcke is difficult to convey in the public media. This began with his early talk show appearance in 2015, when he believed that he had to first of all put a German flag over the right-hand backrest of his seat – in order to make a “confession”. That was not symbolic politics. That was just a symbol, with no politics at all.

On the evening of this election Sunday for Saxony, Thuringia and ultimately for all of Germany, television is again inviting Höcke not to do himself any favors. It is 6:22 p.m. when the election winner in Thuringia steps in front of the ARD cameras – and from the very first second he is geared up for trouble. The sovereignty of an election winner? A total failure.

The standard subordinate clause is made that the AfD is right-wing extremist. “Are you trying to stigmatize me?” Höcke venomously. He is told that this is a fact. Höcke remains aggressive and speaks of the “stupid firewall behavior of the old parties.” The first channel reacts confidently with a quick switch to Jörg Schönenborn.

ARD graphics show firewall in society

The Director of Information, who grew up in Solingen, is once again the master of the numbers at ARD – and he manages this job with his usual aplomb on this hectic election day, even when the fire alarm goes off in his studio late at night during the talk show “Miosga”.

Schönenborn also explains the mood in the state of Thuringia: only 37 percent think that AfD participation in a state government is “good”; 60 percent of Thuringians surveyed think it is “not good”. Because there is obviously a firewall in society, not just with the other parties. TV images repeatedly show the sign in front of the AfD election party venue in Thuringia. “Closed party” is written on it. The public is not invited.

It describes Björn Höcke's AfD: It is a party that can win elections but will not govern. And not just because it clashes with all-against-one coalitions. Also because it is too radical to be wanted by a majority.

As things become more and more dramatic, the ARD proves to be fair

ZDF opened the election evening at 5.30 p.m. ARD followed ten minutes later. The first projection already puts the FDP under “Others” in the party tables. The second shows incense men smoking in the colors of the parties. The first starts off very dramatically: “All of Germany is looking at Thuringia,” it says right at the beginning. This is followed by: “An evening that could change Germany.” Again, the word “secure right-wing extremist party” is mentioned. And so it continues: “A historic defeat is looming – the CDU, SPD and Greens are trembling.”

It is precisely in this excitement that Jörg Schönenborn is doing well. He is giving the AfD a chance with sober figures. “The AfD,” he says, is “on the way from being a protest party to being a party of trust.” He shows this party ahead in the figures five times when it comes to competence – and not just in “refugee policy,” but also in the issue of “social justice.” When asked which party “most likely represents the interests of East Germans,” the AfD has clearly overtaken the Left – 25 to 19 percent.

According to the ARD figures presented by Schönenborn, the protest party is more likely to be the CDU. 52 percent of those surveyed in Saxony and even 55 percent in Thuringia said: “I'm voting for the CDU to prevent the AfD from gaining more influence.” This sobriety, these figures, this objectivity: The first channel is absolutely fair.

Tino Chrupalla avoids questions on ZDF

ZDF initially had difficulty with its broadcasts on the AfD. Federal spokesman Tino Chrupalla was initially not heard in Dresden. It was only on the second attempt that Bettina Schausten was able to congratulate him: “A successful evening for you!” What are you going to do with it now?” When asked about a Prime Minister Björn Höcke for Thuringia, the federal spokesman evaded the question. “We achieved sensational results,” he replied, without mentioning the name of the leading candidate.

Let's switch to ARD. “A requiem for this coalition,” says Alice Weidel at the traffic light coalition. And the AfD federal spokeswoman announces: “We will approach the CDU – the will of the voters is clear, they want a bourgeois government.”

Jörg Urban, the chairman of the AfD in Saxony, is hearing how difficult this will be. The first broadcaster confronted him with a long list of how many associations, from churches to the police union, have warned against the AfD. “The majority of the critics are from state organizations – I see dependencies there,” he suggests. And he adds: “I see favors there that don't have to be taken seriously.”

Höcke has become a problem for the AfD – that is the image that the broadcasters are conveying

Later in the evening, Björn Höcke, who had been rejected by so many, tried again: “My hand is outstretched!” But no one wants to take it. Not the “cartel parties” he denounced. Not even the other election winner this Sunday. BSW top candidate Katja Wolf clearly rejected it. Willingness to form a coalition? “Especially not with an AfD led by Björn Höcke.” She does not see this as a contradiction to the will of the voters: “People voted for the AfD in the clear knowledge that they would not find a coalition partner.”

It will be difficult for an AfD that no one wants to shake hands with. But the AfD has already shed its skin often enough and radically enough. And has very willingly let its leadership fall on its sword. Just because it is quickly forgotten: there was a Bernd Lucke, there was a Frauke Petry. There was a Jörg Meuthen. Even a Björn Höcke can be quickly forgotten.

Björn Höcke has become the AfD's problem – that is the image that the public television station is conveying on this election night. The image of the “Closed Society” sign in front of the Thuringian AfD election party takes on symbolic power. That is bitter for the AfD.

Martin Huber: “Robert Habeck is the nail in the coffin for entire industries”

Especially since new competition from the right is already warming up in the ZDF's “Berlin Round”. “Robert Habeck is a nail in the coffin,” thundered CSU General Secretary Martin Huber. And when asked whether it was sensible to attack centrist parties so much, the CSU man really got worked up: “The Greens are full of ideology.” They stand for decline. Ms Baerbock is still blocking the issue of deportations; she is a threat to internal security in Germany.” And then again in the CSU man's original voice: “Robert Habeck is the nail in the coffin for entire sectors.”

And so I sit on this election night, end the television program and pick up a little book. It is called “The Art of Being Right”. It was written by the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, born in the 18th century. The thinker recommends 37 “tricks” to prevail in arguments.

Then comes a final, desperate “trick”: “If you notice that your opponent is superior and you will be proved wrong,” recommends the philosopher Schopenhauer, “become personal, insulting, rude.” It seems as if Schopenhauer’s desperation has arrived in the 21st century, highly topical on this election Sunday.