Far-right sacks its cellist

Far-right sacks its cellist

News

norman lebrecht

November 13, 2024

The AfD’s foreign affairs group in the German Bundestag has voted to dismmiss Matthias Moosdorf as the party’s spokesman after he accepted an honorary professorship in Moscow.

Moosdorf, former cellist of the Leipzig String Quartet, had accepted the position at the Gnessin Music Academy.

The committee’s decision requires 2-1 ratification by the entire AFD parliamentary party, but that is considered a foregone conclusion. Working for Russia is still considered a no-no on the far right.

Comments

  • V.Lind says:

    I would have thought, judging by the stories around here, working in Russia was a no-no for anyone who took the “correct” position regarding the war in Ukraine.

  • Simon S. says:

    The last sentence should read “Openly working for Russia…”

    • John Borstlap says:

      Correct. All extreme-rightwing parties in Europe have sympathy for the Russian dictator, and are much supportive of his grand plans – sharing profoundly anti-democratic and anti-civilisational ideas.

      But the AfD runs the risk of getting prohibited, so they try to put-up a more or less respectable face, like the Ressentiment National in France where Mrs Le Pen was openly paid by the Kremlin.

      • Sue Sonata Form says:

        It’s called ‘the pendulum affect’. When you have wildly left wing governments you get the opposite when the folks have had it up to here!! Perhaps left wing authoritarianism and pathological compassion wasn’t such a good idea after all. Who knew??!!

  • Robert says:

    Embarrassing… “spokesman” for AfD must pay even less than “honorary professor” at a music school.

    But he still holds his seat in the Reichstag I presume.

    • Saxon Broken says:

      He holds his seat because he was democratically elected. It will be up to the voters to dismiss him at the next election should they decide they prefer another candidate.

  • Karden says:

    The politics of Russia (and Ukraine, etc) are now all over the map. Same thing with Israel and Palestine. So a variety of both leftists and rightists either align or differ on controversies involving certain places, governments, ideologies, entertainment.

    The end of the Cold War and the increasing amount of cultural-political leftism in the West itself have rearranged the furniture.

  • Tamino says:

    The AfD is trying to pretty themselves up for their pipe dream of a coalition with the CDU moderate conservatives after the upcoming German parliament elections.

    • Saxon Broken says:

      You are implying that is a bad thing to stand on a platform which generates more support and is viewed as less offensive by potential coalition partners.

      • Tamino says:

        Well, the AfD is a Pandora box. Their largely hidden financing through their rise to “fame” is dubious. Based on that alone fascist by any definition of political science as we know.
        Of course these “special interests” put their money, where the most stupid voters are, they are the easiest to delude. Just look what happened in the US. (not that the other side there was much better, but maybe somewhat.)

  • Piston1 says:

    —- as well it should be!

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