AfD: The men’s party!
The fact that the AfD is xenophobic, anti-European and opposed to renewable energy was no doubt clear to many of its voters in Saxony-Anhalt, yet they voted for this party nonetheless.
However, the fact that this party is also anti-feminist and does not take women seriously was simply ignored by a great many people and has so far been scarcely discussed, even in the days following the election. Yet the AfD’s disregard for women has become particularly evident in this very election: the new AfD parliamentary group in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament consists of 39 members, 37 of whom are men and – two women. Two women!
This election result confirms the AfD’s disregard for women as never before. Among 37 men: two women!
A sad and shameful low point for women’s emancipation. Formally speaking, of course, the AfD advocates gender equality, but the mindset in people’s heads remains as patriarchal as ever. Here, the difference between cheap lip service and actual action becomes particularly clear. This male-dominated party is still mentally stuck deep in the Middle Ages. A similar ratio is reflected in the gender distribution of the AfD in the Bundestag: 11.8 per cent women and almost 90 per cent men.
The proportion of women in the other parliamentary groups in the Bundestag is as follows:
- Bündnis 90/Die Grünen 61,2 Prozent
- Die Linke 56,3 Prozent
- SPD 41,7 Prozent
- CSU 25 Prozent
- CDU 22,6 Prozent
- Afd 11,8 Prozent
Marcel Fratzscher, Professor of Economics and President of the German Institute for Economic Research, comments in the TAZ that it is important to understand that it was primarily many young men who voted for the AfD. Only then, he argues, can they be won back. (TAZ, 8 September 2026).
This voting behaviour is certainly also attributable to toxic masculinity, anti-feminism and a lack of education. But the crucial question is: why do so many young men still feel drawn to the AfD? Many young men today fear for their jobs, their incomes and their social status.
Marcel Fratzscher: “Many suffer from loneliness, mental health issues and the feeling of not being needed. In many rural regions of eastern Germany in particular, demographic trends are compounding the problem: more and more young women are moving to larger cities for training and university studies, and often do not return. Left behind are men who frequently lose not only their economic prospects but also their social ties and recognition. This leads to deep frustration and a perceived lack of prospects for an ever-increasing number of young men. None of this makes voting for an anti-democratic and misanthropic party the right choice, but it does make it more understandable.”
It is precisely this fear of the future that is the strongest political driving force of our time, leading us – and luring us – to vote for parties that offer seemingly simple, but ultimately populist, answers to these fears. Everything the AfD stands for – nationalism, remigration, a return to traditional energy sources, and the devaluation of women – is backward-looking and creates a climate of fear and uncertainty.
Only when politicians find genuine answers to the far-reaching economic and social changes will young men once again feel optimistic about the future and place their trust in credible parties.
