Epilogue

The concluding chapter describes when the BfV labeled the national AfD as a confirmed extremist organization under an outgoing coalition government, only to retract it under the incoming coalition. The pivotal question asked is, If the process of labeling extremism becomes a performance, then on what foundation are current democracies built, if not to agree on and exclude the intruding, authoritarian, terrorizing extremist? The chapter describes the firewall, a safeguard in German democracy, which is the tacit agreement between parties that they will not collaborate with the AfD. It examines the efficacy of the firewall and ways it might have started to crack. Finally, the chapter concludes with a final homage to democracy.