2024-09-11 13:43:32
A study shows that many people are thinking about leaving the country because of the AfD’s growing strength. More than half of those surveyed are afraid of what the party calls “remigration.”
In view of the AfD’s increasing strength, especially in the eastern German states, many people are considering emigrating or moving to a new state. This is the result of a study published on Friday by the German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM). This is particularly common among people with a migration background.
According to the study, around a quarter of people with a migration background are at least thinking about leaving Germany in principle. Among those without a migration background, the figure is almost twelve percent. 9.3 percent of respondents with a migration background already have concrete plans to emigrate. Among the other respondents, this figure is 1.9 percent, with 11.7 percent mentioning basic considerations for emigrating.
The values are significantly higher when asked about plans or considerations for moving to another federal state if the AfD, which is in part right-wing extremist, were to participate in the government in the current country of residence. According to the study, between 18 and 34 percent of people with a migration background are considering such a move, depending on their region of origin, and 12.5 percent already have concrete plans to do so. The latter is particularly common (24.1 percent) among people with an Arab background. Among respondents without a migration background, 14.6 percent are considering such a move and 3.4 percent already have concrete plans.
According to the study, almost 60 percent of all respondents expressed fears about the AfD’s plans for a mass deportation of people with a migration background and other undesirables, which the party calls “remigration.” 72.4 percent of respondents classified the AfD as anti-democratic, 80 percent as racist. An exception are people with origins from the countries of the former USSR. Here, the fears are significantly lower and considerations of emigrating are considerably less common than among other respondents.
In view of the study results, the head of the DeZIM Consensus and Conflict Department, Sabrina Zajak, called on the bourgeois parties in particular to “clearly distance themselves from the AfD”. The data shows “that right-wing extremist narratives of expulsion have harmful effects on many people in Germany and damage public peace,” explained Magdeburg sociologist Matthias Quent, who was involved in the study.
“If almost one in five people think about leaving their state if the AfD wins, this will mean a loss of knowledge, know-how and economic capacity, particularly for East Germany, that will be almost unbearable,” warned Leipzig-based sociologist of religion Gert Pickel. “In addition, with such an image, it will be virtually impossible to recruit skilled workers,” he added.