Anarchist Pogo Party of Germany

Anarchist Pogo Party of Germany
Anarchistische Pogo-Partei Deutschlands
AbbreviationAPPD
LeaderSaskia "Omma" Schwabeland
Founded1981 (1981)
NewspaperArmes Deutschland
Youth wingAsocial Youth
Ideology
ColorsBlack & White
Website
www.appd-gdnk.de

The Anarchist Pogo Party of Germany (German: Anarchistische Pogo Partei Deutschlands; APPD) is a German frivolous party which campaigns in support of unemployment benefits, direct democracy and the Balkanization of Germany. Established in 1981, it has run in a number of elections since it registered as a political party in 1997.

History

APPD stall in Hanover in 2008

The Anarchist Pogo Party of Germany (German: Anarchistische Pogo Partei Deutschlands; APPD) was first established in 1981,[1] by a group of punks in Hanover.[2] It soon became a party for the emerging German punk subculture,[3] announcing itself to the public in 1984.[2] The new party sought to create a support base from "non-voters, plebs and benefit fraudsters".[4]

For most of the 1980s and 1990s, the party failed to generate substantial media attention. This changed when it began participating in elections[5] and officially registered as a political party.[6] It first ran in the 1997 Hamburg state election,[5] then in the subsequent 1998 German federal election.[7] The party ran with the promise that it would give free beer to anyone who voted for them.[8] Despite this, it won only ~0.1% of the vote.[6] In the 2011 Berlin state election, the APPD claimed to have won a plurality of the vote, as it had instructed supporters to either vote for it or to abstain; the party therefore claimed all 39.8% of eligible voters who did not turn out.[9] The party attempted to run in the 2021 German federal election under the slogan "work is shit", but their application was rejected, as it had only been submitted electronically.[8]

Proposals

The APPD programme mixes together elements of political satire and serious proposals for reform.[6] As a frivolous party, its aim is to challenge the Establishment and political correctness.[10] Unlike classical anarchism, which rejects the existence of the state, the APPD supports a limited state in which citizens participate in decision making through direct democracy and e-democracy.[6] It takes the "Groucho-Marxist" approach to anti-statism, suggesting that people wean themselves off the state.[11]

The Holy Roman Empire at its greatest extent in the 13th century

The APPD calls for the borders of Germany to be restored to those of the Holy Roman Empire, as they were in 1237 under Frederick II.[4] The party further proposes the "Balkanization" of Germany[12] by dividing the country into separate cantons for each of the so-called "pogo-races": one for the "social parasites" who live off state welfare; one for the "achievers" who pursue careers and earn money; and one for violent people such as criminals and neo-Nazis to fight each other.[6] By creating separate living spaces for different classes of people, it hopes to protect "pogo-anarchists" from normality.[9]

The party adopts an anti-work ethic, which celebrates idleness and calls for the "right to be unemployed".[13] It demands the extension of paid unemployment to all, as a human right.[4] The party also proposes the replacement of the old age pension with a "young age pension", to allow young people to spend their time enjoying themselves rather than working. As a response to the 2011 Germany E. coli O104:H4 outbreak, it suggested that people adopt an all-beer diet.[9] According to sociologist Knud Andresen, the party had something of a "cult of alcohol consumption".[14] Among its slogans are "power to the anti-socials!";[9] Another calls for the "total re-stupefication of mankind".[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Lucardie 2001, p. 11; Robel 2021, p. 106.
  2. ^ a b Robel 2021, p. 106.
  3. ^ Hayton 2022, p. 2.
  4. ^ a b c d Schröter 2015, p. 402.
  5. ^ a b Robel 2021, p. 107.
  6. ^ a b c d e Lucardie 2001, p. 11.
  7. ^ Lucardie 2001, p. 11; Robel 2021, p. 107.
  8. ^ a b "German communists, anarchists barred from September election". Deutsche Welle. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  9. ^ a b c d Jacobs 2012, p. 765.
  10. ^ Arzheimer 2010.
  11. ^ Novak 2015, pp. 46, 83n8.
  12. ^ Lucardie 2001, p. 11; Schröter 2015, p. 402.
  13. ^ Robel 2021, pp. 106–107.
  14. ^ Andresen 2020, p. 208.

Bibliography

Further reading

  • Meinert, Philipp (2013). "'Liebes Stimmvieh, die APPD ist eine ganz normale Partei...!' Die Anarchistische Pogo-Partei Deutschlands". In Meinert, Philipp; Seeliger, Martin (eds.). Punk in Deutschland: Sozial- und kulturwissenschaftliche Perspektiven (in German). transcript Verlag. pp. 83–105. ISBN 9783839421628.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist_Pogo_Party_of_Germany