Students lament nationalist gains

The FZS, an association of student unions, has warned that the swing to the right in Germany’s parliament could lead to a hostile attitude to science.

Following the nationalist Alternative for Germany party’s strong result in last month’s parliamentary elections, there is a danger that the discourse on education will become hostile to science, FZS board member Eva Gruse warned in a statement on 25 September. The increasing equality that has been achieved at universities in recent years could also be threatened, she said.

The union called on students to protest against the AfD and warned that a return to undemocratic governance structures was on the cards, with parity for non-professorial teaching staff and other institution members in danger of being done away with.