In early February, thousands of Germans took to the streets for the permanence of “Brandmauer”. Cut-fire wall, in literal translation, or sanitary cord, in free version, is the agreement by which the main German parties of all colors have pledged to isolate extremist organizations, excluding them from government coalitions. On certain occasions, the hit has forced democratic right and left to govern together.
February demonstrations targeted the new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, leader of Christian Democrats, who had tried to approve in, Parliament, an anti-immigration bill with the support of AFD (Alternative by), the far-right asset of ostensible guidance.
Brandmauer is a consequence, in the plan of parliamentary policy, of institutional architecture inspired by the idea of ”militant democracy”, which preaches the active defense of the representative system through devices that make the electoral expression of extremism difficult – as the mixed electoral system and the barrier clause – or allow the legal accountability of undemocratic leaders and, to the limit, the banishment of parties that welcome.
German experience is the best -known attempt to overcome the thorny challenge of shielding democratic regimes against antisystem radicalism. For decades, given the rise of far -right populism, many European countries have adopted this course.
In the book “-Combating intolerance” (political extremism in democracies-combating intolerance), American scholar William M. Downs discusses the pros and cons of different strategies adopted in the Western, to deal with the iliberal parties: ignore them, isolate them, co-op, collaborate with them or ban them.
The political scientist also scains the normative and concrete implications of the thorny paradox that only democracies face: how and to what extent a system based on tolerance can deal with intolerant.
Although all that is known concerns European parliamentary democracies, the question of how to contain the far right also concerns Brazil. Just welcoming the complaint against Jair Bolsonaro and his click, he gave him another demonstration of the strength of our political institutions, whose functioning blocked the coup plot to prevent Lula’s possession.
But the far right, though minority, remains firm and strong here: it takes more people to the streets than the left and its boss is courted by the traditional right to the Planalto Palace and the leaders of their respective parties. This, although Bolsonaro was accused of paying attention against the Democratic Rule of Law and plotting a coup; Despite defending the military dictatorship, the torture that systematically practiced and even the killing of those who opposed it.
Institutional differences facilitate the strategies of containing intolerant in parliamentary systems. But here and now, an effectively democratic right has something to learn from the walls and strings erected by Europeans, from Germany to Belgium, Sweden and Spain.
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