Less than two weeks away from the crucial elections in Germany, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has endorsed Alice Weidel, the chancellor candidate of the far-right political group Alternative for Germany, also known as AfD. The two met earlier this week with Orbán describing the AfD as the “Future of Germany.” Orbán and Weidel pledged to work together to dismantle the European Union from within.  Following the meeting, Weidel described Hungary as a model for her party and promised to follow their path if she is elected. This statement should set off alarm bells for German voters as Orbán’s Hungary is the prime example of democratic erosion in recent years. Additionally, this meeting signals the end of a taboo against other European countries recognizing the AfD party as legitimate. The meeting between Orbán and Weidel comes only a month after Weidel participated in a live chat with billionaire Elon Musk in which he endorsed her as the next Chancellor of Germany. 

Weidel and the AfD party currently sit at second place in election polls after Friedrich Merz and the center right party Christian Democratic Union (CDU). This comes as a scary shock to many Germans who have been against the AfD party since its conception. Founded in 2013, the AfD is an anti-immigrant party that has adopted xenophobic and Islamophobic positions. The AfD operates on the platform that they represent “the people” and will save Germany from the ruling elite who is destroying the rule of law. According to Jan-Werner Müller in his book What is Populism?, populists often use rhetoric like emphasizing they, and only they, represent the people and criticizing the elite to gain support. 

Coincidentally, while the AfD were initially shunned by most Germans, they started to gain popularity as voters became increasingly frustrated with immigration issues and turned to the alternative. Taboos that were initially in place against collaboration and acknowledgement of this far right party have slowly eroded as they’ve gained more popular support. For example, in January, the CDU cooperated with the AfD to pass a motion to Germany’s Parliament to strengthen border controls and speed up deportations. This collaboration signals the end of a taboo against parties working with the AfD. 

While the AfD likely will not be able to do anything drastic with power achieved in the upcoming election due to being under investigation by the domestic intelligence agency, it’s essential that political elites should keep a watchful eye on them. The breakdown of taboos against collaborating with would-be populist figures is a major warning sign of democratic backsliding. As emphasized by Levitsky and Ziblatt in Chapter 1 of How Democracies Die, the responsibility for filtering out populists lies with political parties and party leaders. Political elites must serve as gatekeeper to democracy by distancing themselves from would-be populists even if this means aligning with rival parties. In this case, the center right CDU party must be willing to align with the center left parties over the AfD, even if the AfD aligns with their policies more and will help them win votes. If political elites fail at gatekeeping, the AfD will gain power and credibility from the general public.

During a debate between the CDU’s Merz and rival center left party the SPD’s Olaf Scholz, Merz pledged to not collaborate with the AfD party again. Whether or not Merz stays true to his word once the CDU party is elected to power will have certain consequences on the future of democracy in Germany.