Le Pen Clams Up on the AfD

Paging Paris. Allo Allo . . .That’s our reaction to the silence of Marine Le Pen after the electoral win pulled off by the Alternative for Germany Sunday at Saxony-Anhalt. The quiet is all the stranger because both the AfD and Madame Le Pen’s National Rally appear to be cut from the same rightist cloth. A leader of the AfD, Beatrix von Storch, told our A.R. Hoffman last year that she and Madame Le Pen were “on the same team.” Do the French feel the same way?Madame Le Pen’s quiet suggests that Europe’s rightist camp is far from unified. France 24 marvels that neither Madame Le Pen “nor the leader of her National Rally Jordan Bardella have uttered a word about the biggest breakthrough for a far-right party in Germany since World War II.” Yet in 2024 Mr. Bardella distanced himself from the AfD after a party leader, Maximilian Krah, declared that everyone in the SS was “not automatically a criminal.”One National Rally politician, Franck Allisio, declared on Sunday in respect of the AfD that “we have nothing to do with them” and that “We have real problems on both style and substance. We do not consider them to be our allies in Germany.” Another National Rally figure, Philippe Ballard, accused the AfD of confusing “brutality with firmness.” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy has distanced her government from the AfD. The AfD’s success in Saxony-Anhalt — while short of an outright majority, it was still a rout — did draw comment from this side of the Atlantic. The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, responded to the results by posting “Gut gemacht,” German for “Well done.” He has previously reckoned that only the AfD can “save” Germany. The party has thanked Mr. Musk for “your support and for your clear and highly important perspective.”Even more effusive was President Trump, who posted a screen shot of the results from Saxony-Anhalt and also declared “Wow! The Populist Party in Germany just had a really big night. They finally got tired of the absolutely horrible Immigration rules and regulations which have hurt Germany so badly. THEY ARE ON THE RISE, and not going to take it anymore! MGGA!!!” — meaning Make Germany Great Again.That brings us back to Madame Le Pen’s silence. Polls show her some 20 points ahead in France’s presidential race, which will be held in 2027. This is her fourth attempt at the Élysée Palace, and the Financial Times assesses that her party “has softened some of its positions, notably on the EU.” An effort to “clean out the ranks” is also part of the National Rally’s tack toward the center. The AfD, by contrast, has shown little appetite for moderation.Why would they? The AfD secured the second most seats in the Bundestag in elections last year, and they are now polling as the most popular party in Germany. Chancellor Friedrich Merz carries an approval rating of 13 percent. The party’s message on immigration and the economy appears to be resonating. Madame Le Pen, though, knows a thing or two about moving beyond a Nazi taint. Her silent warning on the AfD is loud and clear.

Le Pen Clams Up on the AfD

Le Pen Clams Up on the AfD

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