ConWatch: Week 1,792

Does Germany have a constitution yet?

German Officialdom really outdid itself this week, going to great lengths to bravely demonstrate the importance of avoiding the appearance of far-right nationalism while merrily embracing the substance of far-right nationalism. For in the Teutonic Imaginary, everyone needs to be schematized somehow — a Jew can only be weak, dead, or Israeli; all Nazis wear brown and goosestep — so as long as you are not a card-carrying member of the Alternative for Germany, you obviously can’t be a baddie.

Friedrich Merz, Germany’s probable next chancellor, said as much. After he horrified polite company everywhere by getting a non-binding resolution on migration passed with AfD support, he “regretted” that the “democratic center” wouldn’t hand over its hechsher for a binding version of much the same thing.

Because when you’re going about dismantling rule of law, at least make it look democratic. And by democratic, we don’t mean by working with the party that is now polling second nationally and on top…