Germany's 2024 elections reignite a longstanding question: What are the odds that voting 'glitches' seem to favor the Left?
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Don't get me wrong, I'm not some kind of disgusting election-denier. After all, media made up that term as a way to disparage people who questioned the results of the 2020 US election so, therefore, that word must have meaning and really matter.
Or, maybe it's the powers behind such words that are the reason people are so afraid to be labeled by them. Either way, this article isn't about the people who fall for buzzwords or the malicious ones who use them. This is about election interference and the curious case of the politically-biased computer "glitch."
Recent state elections in Germany garnered significant attention for two reasons: the remarkable surge of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, and a curious voter glitch that managed to change a critical seat, thereby removing that party's ability to create a "blocking minority" government.
The Afd is Germany's right-leaning party. Like the MAGA movement in the US and the many right-leaning parties surging in popularity across the West, it has become a focal point for voters (particularly young voters) who are increasingly concerned about their nation's economic trajectory, crime, and social cohesion.
The AfD perspective can be summarized as advocating for national sovereignty, stricter immigration controls, and economic liberalism.
According to their platform, the AfD emphasizes the need for controlled immigration policies that prioritize highly-skilled workers, and a more rigorous asylum process to reduce the strain on public resources.
They are critical of the European Union's current structure, advocating for significant reforms to restore what they see as lost national sovereignty.
The party also supports lowering taxes, reducing bureaucracy, and ensuring balanced budgets to foster a robust economy.
On social issues, the AfD promotes traditional family values, proposing incentives for families and rejecting progressive gender policies. In terms of energy and environmental policy, they call for a balanced approach that includes conventional energy sources to ensure affordability and reliability, while criticizing heavy subsidies for renewables.
Overall, the AfD's platform reflects a desire to challenge the status quo and offer an alternative to what they perceive as a destructive mainstream political consensus. This stance has resonated with a growing segment of the electorate that feels underserved by mainstream politics, particularly in regions affected by economic downturns and those experiencing demographic shifts due to immigration.
In the 2024 state elections, the AfD achieved historic victories in the eastern German states of Thuringia and Saxony.
In Thuringia, the AfD became the first right-leaning party to win a state election since the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) in 1949, securing around 32.8% of the vote. This gave the party a significant share of seats in the state parliament, allowing them to block certain legislative actions, such as judicial appointments; though they are unlikely to form a government due to the refusal of other parties to cooperate with them.
In Saxony, the AfD also performed strongly, coming in a close second to the Christian Democrats (CDU), with approximately 30.8% of the vote, marking a substantial increase in their political influence compared to previous elections.
Of course, this rise in popularity sparked intense backlash from the usual suspects in global media, who tried every possible way to frame the political popularity of the party as the second coming of Hitler. In fact, for several years the left-wing parties and media in Germany have been campaigning to ban the AfD party entirely in order to "protect democracy."
However, it was in Saxony that the other significant event took place – a "technical glitch" that cost the AfD a crucial seat needed for a blocking minority.
A blocking minority is a political term used to describe a situation where a group of representatives or members in a legislative body holds enough seats or votes to prevent certain decisions from being passed, even if they don't have a majority.
Due to an error in the electronic vote tallying system, a portion of votes intended for the AfD was "temporarily misallocated," impacting the final seat distribution. After the results were recalculated to correct the software error, the AfD lost a seat, which removed their chance to form this blocking minority. This recalibration deprived them of a critical strategic advantage they could have used to influence key decisions in Saxony's parliament.
This technical glitch resurfaced concerns many conservatives have regarding elections in Western democracies after the results of the 2020 US election.
The AfD's surge and the subsequent technical mishap have raised important questions regarding not only Germany's future (with their Federal elections taking place next year), but also the integrity of democratic institutions across the West.
As the pendulum begins its return from the far-left position it is currently in, we are noticing increasingly desperate efforts by establishment actors to hold it back for as long as possible, always with the same excuse "for the sake of democracy."
We see these desperate attempts in the lawfare against Trump and his associates (such as Rudy Giuliani and Steve Bannon), in the attacks on the AfD's existence as a political party, in the unity of the gamut of left-wing parties in Europe to ensure the Right is kept out of any position of influence, even if that is the will of the people.
With the desperation of the Left in mind, it is not outside the realm of possibility, or even probability, to presume they would be willing to "fix" a few glitches to ensure they remain in power.
But, the most important takeaway from results like this, no matter the concerns or fears of conspiracy, is that the pendulum is beginning its swing and the momentum is becoming harder and harder to withstand.
For this reason, Christians, conservatives, and patriots across the West must not allow demoralization to set in, but face the future with a renewed sense of purpose.
While this glitch went against the AfD, if one looks through a list of election controversies you will find the glitches do not always fall one way. While that does not mean they can never be the result of bad actors or election interference, we must be careful not to automatically assume they are politically-biased. The presumption that they are can often create a feeling of hopelessness that keeps the voters at home and out of the polls – perhaps the exact reason some might want to push such information.
So we must remember that no matter what, we must keep pushing, keep sharing the truth as best we can, and keep showing up. The pendulum is on the move, there is no stopping it now.
Arthur is a former editor and consultant. Born in India to missionary parents, he spent his early career working in development for NGOs in Asia, Central America, and Africa.
Arthur has an educational background in history and psychology, with certifications from the University of Oxford and Leiden in the economics, politics, and ethics of mass migration and comparative theories in terrorism and counterterrorism. He is currently launching CivWest, a company focused on building capital to fund restorative projects and create resilient systems across the Western world.
I am curiously hearing the same rhetoric, the same buzzwords over there that I hear over here. It's really quite unbelievable that that is an accident.