From the AfD member to the SPD politician: a way full of lessons

From the AfD member to the SPD politician: a way full of lessons

Ritterhude, Deutschland - A dramatic evening is imminent! Simon Bucher, the former AfD politician, will speak in Ritterhude on November 9 and share his moving experiences with the right-wing populist party. The occasion? A memorial event on the terrible Nazi pogroms from 1938. Bucher, who joined the AfD in 2016 and retired again in 2020, has a lot to tell about the dark sides of the political landscape and the dangers of relativization of history.

Bucher, who is now in the city council for the SPD, will emphasize the importance of commemoration in his speech. "It is important to counteract measures and events to preserve memory," he explains. He sees it as his duty to raise the voice and to say: "Never again!" At a time when many attempts to trivialize the past, Bucher will take a clear position and stimulate the listeners to think.

insights into the political past

his decision to join the AfD was not easy for Bucher. "Back then I worked in the gastronomy and the atmosphere was characterized by another jargon," he recalls. But the initial enthusiasm for the party he saw as an underdog soon gave way to disappointment. "I have recognized the trenches earlier," he says of his time in the AfD. The turning point came in March 2020 when he left the party and joined the SPD.

Today, Bucher sees the AfD as a serious political force that has successfully positioned itself on the right of the Union. "The party managed to open up a new group of voters," he explains. The challenges that the AfD brings with it are enormous, and Bucher warns of the social consequences if the established parties do not work together to counteract populism. "If we want to weaken the AfD, we have to learn to pull together in a democratic spectrum," he says urgently.

his appearance in Ritterhude promises to become an urgent appeal for the culture of remembrance, and invites citizens to deal with the past and to draw the teachings for the future.