🇩🇪 German state & local elections

[JimJamUK]

These results don't tell us too much about the Landtag election later this year. The European election probably won't either because it will probably have low and partly distorted turnout because of the divergence of local runoff elections, but at least all important entities will compete everywhere, especially BSW which still is the biggest wildcard.

Can you go into more detail about how BSW did in these local elections?

[Yeahsayyeah]

These results don't tell us too much about the Landtag election later this year. The European election probably won't either because it will probably have low and partly distorted turnout because of the divergence of local runoff elections, but at least all important entities will compete everywhere, especially BSW which still is the biggest wildcard.

Can you go into more detail about how BSW did in these local elections?

They did well, where they competed, but they did not compete in many places for a lack of local organizations in many places.

They competed for the disctrict councils of
Sonneberg: 7.6 %
Greiz: 11.1 %
Wartburgkreis: 10.4 %
Gotha: 12.4 %

With the exception of Sonneberg their vote share was higher than the loss of the Left Party

Town councils:

Gotha: 8.5 %
Sonneberg: 5.7 %
Bad Salzungen (Wartburgkreis) labeled as an "open list" which emphasizes including allies: 8,8%
Zeulenroda-Triebes (Greiz): 10.2 %
Bleicherode (Nordhausen): 16 %

They fielded a mayoral candidate in Zeulenroda-Triebes who got third with 11.1 %.
In Bleicherode they got an "Ortsbürgermeister" elected ("Ortschaft" is a sub-level of a muncipality, often a village, in this case it's Bleicherode proper - let's call it a muncipality district mayor for the lack of a better term) with 56.6% against a CDU candidate.

And that's basically it. The general trend is that the town council elections are much more localised than the district council elections  (many people don't know what district councils do) and so BSW regularly fared better there. It basically looks like they will enter the Thuringia Landtag later that year.

Regional public broadcaster mdr has a site with interactive maps

[Storr]

An AfD candidate for Mannheim municipal council was stabbed by a 25 year old with a box cutter on Tuesday. The incident occurred after candidate Heinrich Koch observed the younger man cutting down campaign posters and decided to chase after him. AfD claims it was done by a "left-wing extremist". 62 year old Koch's injuries are "not life threatening".

https://www.politico.eu/article/afd-politician-stabbed-political-attack-violence-elections-far-right-left-wing-extremism/

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

Of the 413 municipalities in Brandenburg, the AfD lead in 325, the CDU in 50, the SPD in 20, and FW and BvB in 5 each:



On the other hand, the AfD lost every district administrator runoff election in Thüringen:


Hamburg district council election results: SPD remains the strongest and makes a small gain, while the Greens suffer large losses and the CDU and AfD make modest gains:

[Flyersfan232]

Any hope for the. Free voters winning 5% nationally

[You are responsible]

Any hope for the. Free voters winning 5% nationally

Probably not. Too much competition for that (CDU, FDP, AfD...)

[You are responsible]

Saxony and Thuringia state elections are in about two weeks, soon to be followed by Brandenburg.

With the AfD polling at about 30% and the BSW a little under 20% it feels like deeply personal elections to me, and it probably marks a peak in my alienation from my original "homeland".

I was born and grew up in the East. I had friends there (with the use of the past tense being deliberate since the political and in the end also personal alienation happened here too). The last two weeks I was on vacation and traveled through rural Brandenburg and my summary would be that if nothing else at least the nature is beautiful there.

This summer I read the novel The Possibility of Happiness by East German author Anne Rabe who is about my age. The book is supposed to provide an explanation for the political developments in the eastern parts of the country. It is also supposed to be a book about violence. Not necessarily or excusively political violence, but also the violence of World War II and the violence happening in families. Some of the descriptions in the novel had eery familiarities with my own family history.

Recently my psychotherapist - who is a bit younger than me and from western Germany - asked me about my parents in the context of them having been socialized in the GDR. Fortunately it would never occur to both of my parents to vote for AfD or BSW (mom leans towards Green/Left - in that order - and dad towards FDP/CDU/SPD - also in that order). Yet even they demonstrate some of the personal characteristics that could lead to an AfD election victory in the week after the next.

30% of the vote for the AfD will in a sense also be an act of violence, albeit not a physical one (not at first, anyway). And at the moment I live in anticipation of this violent act.

A former fellow student of mine from the University of Halle-Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt, who also happened to grow up there, occassionally writes on social media how she is thinking about leaving the East with her family for political reasons. I suppose I got there first, already having done that 15 years ago.

[jaichind]

There might be a chance of a negative majority in Brandenburg where FDP does not cross 5% and AfD-BSW-Linke beats out CDP-SDP-Greens. 

[President Johnson]

Brandenburg MP Dietmar Woidke's anti-Berlin shtick gets tiresome at this point. Not only comes it off as pure campaign noise, I'm also tired of the populist federal government bashing. Yes, the FDP sucks and Scholz is a poor communicator ... however, all things considered, his administration is much better than its reputation. But the constant talking down doesn't make things better at all. The opposite actually is true.

Some more context: Dietmar Woidke (SPD) now plans to campaign without the support of the chancellor, who also represents a Brandenburh district in the Bundestag. Woidke expressed that he is sometimes "glad not to hear from the federal government for a few days," indicating a desire for independence in his campaign. Woidke also criticized the Ampel, particularly over its handling of the upcoming budget discussions and over Ukraine policy (even adopting the Kretschmer playbook in a sense).

[You are responsible]

Brandenburg MP Dietmar Woidke's anti-Berlin shtick gets tiresome at this point. Not only comes it off as pure campaign noise, I'm also tired of the populist federal government bashing. Yes, the FDP sucks and Scholz is a poor communicator ... however, all things considered, his administration is much better than its reputation. But the constant talking down doesn't make things better at all. The opposite actually is true.

Some more context: Dietmar Woidke (SPD) now plans to campaign without the support of the chancellor, who also represents a Brandenburh district in the Bundestag. Woidke expressed that he is sometimes "glad not to hear from the federal government for a few days," indicating a desire for independence in his campaign. Woidke also criticized the Ampel, particularly over its handling of the upcoming budget discussions and over Ukraine policy (even adopting the Kretschmer playbook in a sense).

Whether it is always the smartest move to attack the federal government in that outspoken manner is certainly debatable... but IMO also under the "when you say 'don't think of a pink elephant' you will cause them to think of a pink elephant" aspect. Maybe it would be better to not mention the federal level at all and focus on regional issues.

The one thing the SPD in Brandenburg certainly does right is to make it about "if you want Woidke, you need to vote SPD" - as their election posters literally say. That's simple, straight to the point, using their popular minister-president as an advantage and a way to emphasize what the election is about (the future composition of the state government and not so muchfederal issues) without directly attacking Scholz.

The dumbest party in Brandeburg is certainly the FDP btw. Their election campaign seem to be an odd cross between frivolous joke party (in the mold of the PARTEI, or the "Project 18" Westerwelle FDP from 2002) and a "AfD light"... which comes across as a bizarre attempt at "far-right.. with more fun". But they're polling at only 2% there which is certainly well-earned.

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

With the AfD polling at about 30% and the BSW a little under 20% it feels like deeply personal elections to me, and it probably marks a peak in my alienation from my original "homeland".

I was born and grew up in the East. I had friends there (with the use of the past tense being deliberate since the political and in the end also personal alienation happened here too). The last two weeks I was on vacation and traveled through rural Brandenburg and my summary would be that if nothing else at least the nature is beautiful there.

This summer I read the novel The Possibility of Happiness by East German author Anne Rabe who is about my age. The book is supposed to provide an explanation for the political developments in the eastern parts of the country. It is also supposed to be a book about violence. Not necessarily or excusively political violence, but also the violence of World War II and the violence happening in families. Some of the descriptions in the novel had eery familiarities with my own family history.

Recently my psychotherapist - who is a bit younger than me and from western Germany - asked me about my parents in the context of them having been socialized in the GDR. Fortunately it would never occur to both of my parents to vote for AfD or BSW (mom leans towards Green/Left - in that order - and dad towards FDP/CDU/SPD - also in that order). Yet even they demonstrate some of the personal characteristics that could lead to an AfD election victory in the week after the next.

A former fellow student of mine from the University of Halle-Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt, who also happened to grow up there, occassionally writes on social media how she is thinking about leaving the East with her family for political reasons. I suppose I got there first, already having done that 15 years ago.

If you feel comfortable doing it, could you share some more on this? I'm sure several others would be thankful for an authentic local perspective.

[kelestian]

Brandenburg MP Dietmar Woidke's anti-Berlin shtick gets tiresome at this point. Not only comes it off as pure campaign noise, I'm also tired of the populist federal government bashing. Yes, the FDP sucks and Scholz is a poor communicator ... however, all things considered, his administration is much better than its reputation. But the constant talking down doesn't make things better at all. The opposite actually is true.

Some more context: Dietmar Woidke (SPD) now plans to campaign without the support of the chancellor, who also represents a Brandenburh district in the Bundestag. Woidke expressed that he is sometimes "glad not to hear from the federal government for a few days," indicating a desire for independence in his campaign. Woidke also criticized the Ampel, particularly over its handling of the upcoming budget discussions and over Ukraine policy (even adopting the Kretschmer playbook in a sense).

Whether it is always the smartest move to attack the federal government in that outspoken manner is certainly debatable... but IMO also under the "when you say 'don't think of a pink elephant' you will cause them to think of a pink elephant" aspect. Maybe it would be better to not mention the federal level at all and focus on regional issues.

The one thing the SPD in Brandenburg certainly does right is to make it about "if you want Woidke, you need to vote SPD" - as their election posters literally say. That's simple, straight to the point, using their popular minister-president as an advantage and a way to emphasize what the election is about (the future composition of the state government and not so muchfederal issues) without directly attacking Scholz.

The dumbest party in Brandeburg is certainly the FDP btw. Their election campaign seem to be an odd cross between frivolous joke party (in the mold of the PARTEI, or the "Project 18" Westerwelle FDP from 2002) and a "AfD light"... which comes across as a bizarre attempt at "far-right.. with more fun". But they're polling at only 2% there which is certainly well-earned.

I have seen some FW posters, but don't know much about their Brandenburg branch, is it pure local-issues party there?

[You are responsible]

With the AfD polling at about 30% and the BSW a little under 20% it feels like deeply personal elections to me, and it probably marks a peak in my alienation from my original "homeland".

I was born and grew up in the East. I had friends there (with the use of the past tense being deliberate since the political and in the end also personal alienation happened here too). The last two weeks I was on vacation and traveled through rural Brandenburg and my summary would be that if nothing else at least the nature is beautiful there.

This summer I read the novel The Possibility of Happiness by East German author Anne Rabe who is about my age. The book is supposed to provide an explanation for the political developments in the eastern parts of the country. It is also supposed to be a book about violence. Not necessarily or excusively political violence, but also the violence of World War II and the violence happening in families. Some of the descriptions in the novel had eery familiarities with my own family history.

Recently my psychotherapist - who is a bit younger than me and from western Germany - asked me about my parents in the context of them having been socialized in the GDR. Fortunately it would never occur to both of my parents to vote for AfD or BSW (mom leans towards Green/Left - in that order - and dad towards FDP/CDU/SPD - also in that order). Yet even they demonstrate some of the personal characteristics that could lead to an AfD election victory in the week after the next.

A former fellow student of mine from the University of Halle-Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt, who also happened to grow up there, occassionally writes on social media how she is thinking about leaving the East with her family for political reasons. I suppose I got there first, already having done that 15 years ago.

If you feel comfortable doing it, could you share some more on this? I'm sure several others would be thankful for an authentic local perspective.

It's maybe a bit hard to fully elaborate on it in short paragraphs since I feel like I could write an entire 300-page novel on it too.

What springs to mind from my biography is that I grew up during the 1990s and that the use of racial slurs with regards to Africans or Vietnamese among my family members and the glorification of the Third Reich among my classmates seemed commonplace. It was when I came into contact with West Germans or foreigners on a more frequent basis at my university back home that I first realized that such behaviour was actually not "normal". Neither seemed it to be "normal" in Berlin when I moved here in 2009.

Now, neither my family nor my classmates came from uneducated, impoverished, criminal or otherwise precarious backgrounds that might serve as an excuse. Like I said, neither of my parents would think of voting for AfD. And the city of Halle where I grew up is probably the most urbane, most cosmpolitan, most affluent part of the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.

Now imagine someone from the rural parts of the state who, unlike my parents or the parents of classmates, was thrust into a longer period of unemployment with the fall of the GDR in 1989/90. That's your average AfD voter, I guess.

There are several historical and sociological theories that have tried to explain that. Like the one that a organic process of denazification and democratization never happened post-World War II in eastern Germany. The GDR was offcially an "antifascist" state, but in a way that was actually part of the problem. East Germany was stuck in the view of "we don't have any Nazis here, all the Nazis are living over there in the West... in fact, since we are communists we were victims of the Nazis too". In short, your own past and the personal responsibility you might have had for it was quickly swept under the rug and was never subject of an open and public discourse.

Then, in 1989/90 this society you grew up in was suddenly taken away from you. You were given freedom and democracy without never having learned to deal with it. While a significant portion of the population was thrust into unemployment at the same time. Or, like my father, having at least to switch into an entirely different job. That was an overhelming, traumatic experience for an electorate that had never been never rooted in the trappings of any kind of democratic traditions in the first place.

Things got a bit better for a while during the 2000s, perhaps somewhat similar to the second half of the 1920s ("Golden Twenties") in the Weimar Republic. Like the Great Depression back then things started to get rougher again around 2010 though. And it seemed to accalerate rather to coming to a rest. You have the financial crisis. The Euro crisis. The migration crisis. The climate crisis. The COVID crisis. The Ukraine crisis. The energy and inflation crisis. And suddenly, a post-communist society that stood on shaky grounds in the first place starts to crumble. And now they want a strongman to set things right again.

[CumbrianLefty]

I can certainly recall some quite confidently claiming in the noughties than the differences between the old West and East were becoming less relevant, and that this would "inevitably" continue.

The last 15 odd years really haven't done the Whig interpretation of history many favours, have they.

[You are responsible]

I can certainly recall some quite confidently claiming in the noughties than the differences between the old West and East were becoming less relevant, and that this would "inevitably" continue.

The last 15 odd years really haven't done the Whig interpretation of history many favours, have they.

There seems to be a rather sudden collapse in support for SPD/Greens/FDP/Left that is happening across the board.

There was recently even a Saxony state election poll conducted by INSA that raised the possibility that all four of the aforementioned political parties could be wiped from the state parliament there next week, leaving only AfD, CDU, and BSW with representation. That would be quite a massacre, unprecedented in post-WWII German history (the SPD alone missing the 5% threshold would be quite something).

While the immediate instigators are the COVID pandemic, the Ukraine war, and the subsequent economic woes, the underlying causes run much deeper and go back decades. There is a reason why West Germans simply flock to the CDU in these trying times, while East Germans tend to forego that option and end up with AfD/BSW right away. (The CDU seems to be the "moderate"/"non-populist" party that still manages to hang on the best in the East under the current circumstances, but they're far from being the bullwark the party is in the West.)

There also a bit of a incumbency bonus at work. The SPD is still doing relatively well in Brandenburg and the Left does so in Thuringia, while the CDU is of course the strongest in Saxony. The current minister-presidents of these states come the respective parties mentioned here. But if you don't have incumbency it's pretty much a death sentence for you in the current climate.

[President Johnson]

I can certainly recall some quite confidently claiming in the noughties than the differences between the old West and East were becoming less relevant, and that this would "inevitably" continue.

The last 15 odd years really haven't done the Whig interpretation of history many favours, have they.

There seems to be a rather sudden collapse in support for SPD/Greens/FDP/Left that is happening across the board.

There was recently even a Saxony state election poll conducted by INSA that raised the possibility that all four of the aforementioned political parties could be wiped from the state parliament there next week, leaving only AfD, CDU, and BSW with representation. That would be quite a massacre, unprecedented in post-WWII German history (the SPD alone missing the 5% threshold would be quite something).

While the immediate instigators are the COVID pandemic, the Ukraine war, and the subsequent economic woes, the underlying causes run much deeper and go back decades. There is a reason why West Germans simply flock to the CDU in these trying times, while East Germans tend to forego that option and end up with AfD/BSW right away. (The CDU seems to be the "moderate"/"non-populist" party that still manages to hang on the best in the East under the current circumstances, but they're far from being the bullwark the party is in the West.)

There also a bit of a incumbency bonus at work. The SPD is still doing relatively well in Brandenburg and the Left does so in Thuringia, while the CDU is of course the strongest in Saxony. The current minister-presidents of these states come the respective parties mentioned here. But if you don't have incumbency it's pretty much a death sentence for you in the current climate.

Speaking of incumbency bonus, I'm fairly convinced that Bodo Ramelow is completely DOA in Thuringia. BSW has almost cut the Left's vote share in half in recent polls, where he's around 15%. I'm not even convinced there will be a late swing towards the sitting MP as we've seen in multiple other elections. Especially when Ramelow seems finished, it might become a self-fulfilling prophecy and swing voters might flock to the CDU as the main democratic force against AfD. I could even see a late CDU swing at the expense of Die Linke (and SPD/Greens to a lesser extent).

[RGM2609]

What role is the BSW likely to play in the government formation in the three Eastern lands?

[You are responsible]

What role is the BSW likely to play in the government formation in the three Eastern lands?

Possibly a fairly important one, out of sheer neccessity and desperation.

If the CDU-SPD-Green bloc fails to win a majority - which is practically a certainty in Thuringia at this point and at least a realistic possibility in Saxony and Brandenburg - a CDU-BSW or CDU-BSW-SPD coalition will become the *only* remaining option to prevent a AfD government (or a round of snap elections).

The CDU is not really that thrilled about it, but they haven't ruled it out either (or maybe more precisely: they have resigned themselves to it) in a necessary evil kind of way.

Now here comes the hard part: It's quite possible that BSW could finish ahead of CDU in Thuringia and the CDU won't in all likelihood be willing to elect a BSW minister-president. (I guess a "neutral" non-partisan minister-president could be the last resort).

BSW is also sometimes toying with their relative openness (compared to the other parties anyway) towards the AfD although IMO that's more of an attempt in raising their price in future negotiations with the CDU. Polling data from eastern Germany shows that a government particpation by the AfD would still be a highly controversial and risky gamble since practically everyone who is not voting AfD happens to be vehemently opposed to the AfD. The same polling data shows much greater openness towards a CDU-BSW cooperation.

[You are responsible]

I can certainly recall some quite confidently claiming in the noughties than the differences between the old West and East were becoming less relevant, and that this would "inevitably" continue.

The last 15 odd years really haven't done the Whig interpretation of history many favours, have they.

There seems to be a rather sudden collapse in support for SPD/Greens/FDP/Left that is happening across the board.

There was recently even a Saxony state election poll conducted by INSA that raised the possibility that all four of the aforementioned political parties could be wiped from the state parliament there next week, leaving only AfD, CDU, and BSW with representation. That would be quite a massacre, unprecedented in post-WWII German history (the SPD alone missing the 5% threshold would be quite something).

While the immediate instigators are the COVID pandemic, the Ukraine war, and the subsequent economic woes, the underlying causes run much deeper and go back decades. There is a reason why West Germans simply flock to the CDU in these trying times, while East Germans tend to forego that option and end up with AfD/BSW right away. (The CDU seems to be the "moderate"/"non-populist" party that still manages to hang on the best in the East under the current circumstances, but they're far from being the bullwark the party is in the West.)

There also a bit of a incumbency bonus at work. The SPD is still doing relatively well in Brandenburg and the Left does so in Thuringia, while the CDU is of course the strongest in Saxony. The current minister-presidents of these states come the respective parties mentioned here. But if you don't have incumbency it's pretty much a death sentence for you in the current climate.

Speaking of incumbency bonus, I'm fairly convinced that Bodo Ramelow is completely DOA in Thuringia. BSW has almost cut the Left's vote share in half in recent polls, where he's around 15%. I'm not even convinced there will be a late swing towards the sitting MP as we've seen in multiple other elections. Especially when Ramelow seems finished, it might become a self-fulfilling prophecy and swing voters might flock to the CDU as the main democratic force against AfD. I could even see a late CDU swing at the expense of Die Linke (and SPD/Greens to a lesser extent).

That's true but at least the Left won't have any trouble returning to the state parliament in Thuringia - unlike  Saxony or Brandenburg. That's what I meant with incumbency bonus: The Left won't cease to exist there.

SPD, Greens, FDP, and Left are all in a fight for their very survival.

[You are responsible]

For what it's worth, an Allensbach poll released today showed that a majority of East Germans agree with the statements:

"We only appear to live in a democracy, in reality the citizens don't have anything to say."
"Politicians are dictating us more and more how we have to live our lives."


According to the same poll, a majority of East Germans also agree with the following statements:

"We need a strong politician at the top, not endless debates and compromises."
"Germany should seek to rebuild and strenghten ties with Russia."


That pretty much sums up voting behaviour in the east in the sense that there's no true logic behind, only a confused mish-mash of emotions and prejudices.

It's an inherently populist view on politics where authoritarianism appears to be more democratic than the current system because you have a strong leader who truly embodies the will of the people.

[Sir Mohamed]

Why does it seem like East Germany is relatively Kremlin friendly? Is that just successful Russian propaganda? I'm somewhat confused over this because other countries in Eastern Europe who lived under Soviet oppression have strong anti-Russian bents, Poland being the most notable example. I think the US has one of the highest favorability ratings in Poland.

[You are responsible]

Why does it seem like East Germany is relatively Kremlin friendly? Is that just successful Russian propaganda? I'm somewhat confused over this because other countries in Eastern Europe who lived under Soviet oppression have strong anti-Russian bents, Poland being the most notable example. I think the US has one of the highest favorability ratings in Poland.

Eastern Germany is actually more like Hungary in that regard.

As for the reasons... I think it stems from Germany's unique historical perspective. Germans invaded Russia in WWII and committed numerous war crimes there. Afterwards they were not "conquered", but "liberated" by Russia. And that indeed became the core tenet of post-WWII Soviet propaganda in East Germany.

Poland on the other hand didn't invade the Soviet Union and there was no case to be made that they needed to be liberated from a dictatorship (at least not a native Polish one that is).

Nowadays, both AfD and BSW indeed argue against German arms shipments to Ukraine with the talking point that after the experiences of WWII no German weapons should ever be used to kill Russians again.

[jaichind]

Why does it seem like East Germany is relatively Kremlin friendly? Is that just successful Russian propaganda? I'm somewhat confused over this because other countries in Eastern Europe who lived under Soviet oppression have strong anti-Russian bents, Poland being the most notable example. I think the US has one of the highest favorability ratings in Poland.

Eastern Germany is actually more like Hungary in that regard.

As for the reasons... I think it stems from Germany's unique historical perspective. Germans invaded Russia in WWII and committed numerous war crimes there. Afterwards they were not "conquered", but "liberated" by Russia. And that indeed became the core tenet of post-WWII Soviet propaganda in East Germany.

Poland on the other hand never invaded the Soviet Union and there was no case to be made that they needed to be liberated from a dictatorship (at least not a native Polish one that is).

Nowadays, both AfD and BSW indeed argue against German arms shipments to Ukraine with the talking point that after the experiences of WWII no German weapons should ever be used to kill Russians again.

How much of this is this about: East Germany is significantly economically more backward than the West despite over 30 years of reunification so there is resentment against the Western-dominated establishment.  The Western-dominated establishment seems to hate Russia so the East become more pro-Russia out of resentment.  Similar to the pro-Trump crowd the USA does not like Trump that much but hates the people who hate Trump.

[You are responsible]

Why does it seem like East Germany is relatively Kremlin friendly? Is that just successful Russian propaganda? I'm somewhat confused over this because other countries in Eastern Europe who lived under Soviet oppression have strong anti-Russian bents, Poland being the most notable example. I think the US has one of the highest favorability ratings in Poland.

Eastern Germany is actually more like Hungary in that regard.

As for the reasons... I think it stems from Germany's unique historical perspective. Germans invaded Russia in WWII and committed numerous war crimes there. Afterwards they were not "conquered", but "liberated" by Russia. And that indeed became the core tenet of post-WWII Soviet propaganda in East Germany.

Poland on the other hand never invaded the Soviet Union and there was no case to be made that they needed to be liberated from a dictatorship (at least not a native Polish one that is).

Nowadays, both AfD and BSW indeed argue against German arms shipments to Ukraine with the talking point that after the experiences of WWII no German weapons should ever be used to kill Russians again.

How much of this is this about: East Germany is significantly economically more backward than the West despite over 30 years of reunification so there is resentment against the Western-dominated establishment.  The Western-dominated establishment seems to hate Russia so the East become more pro-Russia out of resentment.  Similar to the pro-Trump crowd the USA does not like Trump that much but hates the people who hate Trump.

You have it a bit backwards here.

For one thing, there has never been an noticable "increase" in Russophilia in eastern Germany in the past 35 years. It has always been that way. The pro-Russian stances only came to the forefront since 2022 because the German federal government started to pursue foreign policies that clash with these already existing views in the eastern states, therefore increasing political polarization.

There might some truth in your theory in the sense that it could be part of an explanation why the Russophilia never actually decreased since 1990.

[CumbrianLefty]

You are saying that in the GDR days a lot of the population was genuinely pro-Russia, as opposed to this simply being imposed by the Communist leadership (as many would have presumed)?