Brandenburg writer and honorary constitutional judge, Juli Zeh, stated that she would be willing to discuss matters with AfD leader Alice Weidel, remarking that she would be interested in knowing what kind of person Weidel is and what lies behind her public facade.
However, the author also set clear limits for the nature of such a meeting. If it were to take place publicly, she would first have to assess whether she could handle the immense responsibility involved in the discussion. Speaking about current talk shows featuring members of the AfD, Zeh criticized the dynamic, noting that while attempts are made to attack them on a moral level, the factual preparation of the other participants is often inadequate. She argued that this approach only gives “more encouragement to the right-wing populists, because they operate with half-truths and oversimplified slogans”. She added that successfully dismantling these arguments is “not easy”.
Despite the challenges, Zeh offered generalized advice for interacting with supporters of the AfD. She recommends staying curious and observing closely. She reminded the public that “we do not live in a dictatorship where you are arrested merely for having had a beer with the “wrong” people”. Furthermore, she dismissed the concept of “contact guilt” as a phantom notion, assuring that one will not simply adopt the views of the AfD just because someone convinces them of those views.
