Grok says: Thilo Sarrazin, the German economist, former SPD politician, Berlin finance senator, and ex-Bundesbank board member, remains a prominent and controversial figure known for his sharp critiques of immigration, particularly from Muslim-majority countries, as well as related topics like demographics, welfare state sustainability, education, and crime in Germany.
\nHis core views haven’t shifted much in recent years; he continues to argue that unchecked mass immigration (especially from certain cultural backgrounds) imposes heavy economic, social, and cultural costs on Germany, threatens the welfare state without secure borders, lowers average intelligence\/competence levels through demographic shifts, increases crime and integration failures, and accelerates a “demographic decline” faster than he initially predicted.Key points from his recent activity (roughly 2022\u20132026):Books and ongoing themes: His most recent major book appears to be Der Staat an seinen Grenzen: \u00dcber Wirkung von Einwanderung in Geschichte und Gegenwart (The State at Its Borders: On the Effects of Immigration in History and the Present), discussed in interviews around 2020 but still referenced. He has continued promoting ideas from earlier works like Feindliche \u00dcbernahme (Hostile Takeover, 2018) on Islam’s impact on progress and society, while reiterating warnings from his 2010 bestseller Deutschland schafft sich ab (Germany Abolishes Itself). In 2025 interviews, he described the demographic shift in Germany as “accelerating faster than predicted,” claiming his bleak outlook on declining native birth rates combined with low-skill immigration was underestimated.
\nInterviews and public statements (2025\u20132026): He has appeared in various formats, often on conservative or alternative media platforms, delivering harsh assessments of Germany’s situation. For example:In early 2026 (around February), he analyzed Germany’s challenges in a webinar\/interview, pointing to rising crime rates, an education crisis due to language deficiencies among migrants, massive financial burdens on municipalities and the economy from migration policies, lack of effective border controls, structural system overload, and eroding public trust in established politics. He warned of widespread business failures (citing figures like 569,000 companies at risk) and described 2026 as potentially a “year of bankruptcy” for Germany.
\nIn other 2025 appearances (e.g., studio visits and discussions marking 10 years since Merkel’s “Wir schaffen das”), he criticized “imported violence,” reality denial in politics, Berlin as the “capital of citizen’s income” (B\u00fcrgergeld, implying welfare dependency), and the state’s total burden from migration. He stressed that a welfare state without protected borders is not viable long-term.
\nHe has linked these issues to broader failures in integration, with statements like violence being “imported” and the state bearing the full costs.<\/p>\n
On platforms like X (formerly Twitter), people still reference him positively as prescient\u2014e.g., claims that events prove him “right” about demographic changes (like high Muslim proportions in certain settings potentially leading to Islamic majorities in decades), or suggesting him as a figure for roles like president in conservative circles. Critics continue to view his positions as inflammatory or outdated, but his exclusion from the SPD (finalized in 2020) hasn’t silenced him; he remains active as an independent commentator.<\/p>\n
Overall, in the past few years, Sarrazin has doubled down on his longstanding warnings: Germany faces existential risks from demographic “Umvolkung” (population replacement), fiscal unsustainability, cultural erosion, and political denial. His tone is often described as uncompromising or “knallhart” (hard-hitting), focusing on data-driven critiques of policy failures rather than new ideological shifts. He appears in economic\/financial contexts (e.g., webinars on gold\/investments tying into national decline) and remains a reference point in debates on migration and identity.<\/p>\n
Thilo Sarrazin has maintained a generally sympathetic but not fully endorsing stance toward the Alternative f\u00fcr Deutschland (AfD) in recent years (2024\u20132026), viewing it as a logical political response to the failures of mainstream parties on immigration, integration, demographics, and welfare issues that he has long criticized.He has not joined the AfD (despite invitations around his 2020 SPD expulsion and earlier speculation), and he remains an independent commentator. However, he has appeared at events or given interviews where he aligns with or defends aspects of their positions, and he has been described in media as an “intellectual enabler” (intellektueller M\u00f6glichmacher) for the party due to how his data-driven critiques from books like Deutschland schafft sich ab (2010) and later works have paved the way for AfD’s rise on migration and cultural topics.Key recent statements and positions:In a March 2026 interview with Deutschland-Kurier (a conservative\/right-leaning outlet), Sarrazin explicitly called the AfD the new “workers’ party” (Arbeiterpartei). He argued that the traditional SPD (his former party) has lost its working-class base due to its support for open migration policies, high welfare burdens, and failure to address economic pressures on lower-income Germans. He sees the AfD as filling that vacuum by appealing to workers concerned about competition from low-skilled immigration, rising crime linked to migration, and the erosion of social security. Clips and discussions of this interview circulated widely on platforms like YouTube and X in mid-March 2026, with titles like “Thilo Sarrazin: DESHALB ist die AfD die neue Arbeiterpartei!” (That’s why the AfD is the new workers’ party!).
\nIn a September 2025 interview with Swiss outlet Blick, he advocated for a different approach to the AfD, criticizing the “firewall” (Brandmauer) strategy of other parties (especially CDU\/CSU) that refuse cooperation. He compared it unfavorably to Switzerland, where the right-wing SVP (Swiss People’s Party) is treated as a normal democratic player without isolation. Sarrazin suggested breaking the German firewall, arguing that demonizing AfD voters alienates large swaths of the population who have lost trust in the state (citing polls showing ~75% distrust). He sees the AfD’s electoral gains as a symptom of mainstream failures rather than something to be purely condemned.
\nIn broader commentary (e.g., a February 2025 t-online profile on his 80th birthday and a 2024 DIE ZEIT review of his book Deutschland auf der schiefen Bahn), Sarrazin has expressed ambivalence: He appreciates the AfD’s focus on border control, reduced welfare migration, and demographic preservation\u2014issues central to his own warnings. However, he has distanced himself from more radical figures like Bj\u00f6rn H\u00f6cke, calling parts of H\u00f6cke’s rhetoric “schrecklich” (terrible) during a 2024 book presentation. He criticizes the blanket vilification of AfD voters by other parties as counterproductive and undemocratic.<\/p>\n
Sarrazin portrays the AfD’s success (especially among former SPD\/CDU voters in eastern Germany and working-class areas) as evidence that his long-standing predictions about migration’s societal costs were correct\u2014and that ignoring them has fueled populism. He urges treating the AfD more like a legitimate opposition force rather than an outcast, while stopping short of full endorsement or membership. His views continue to resonate in conservative and right-leaning circles, where he’s often cited as prescient on why the AfD thrives.<\/p>\n
The Alternative f\u00fcr Deutschland (AfD), Germany’s far-right populist party, has historically attracted support from certain academic circles, particularly economists and social scientists, due to its origins as a euroskeptic “professors’ party” (Professorenpartei) founded in 2013. While the party has radicalized over time\u2014shifting from economic liberalism to anti-immigration, nationalist, and identitarian positions\u2014some academics continue to endorse it, provide intellectual backing, or show public sympathy through statements, donations, or involvement. However, many early academic supporters have distanced themselves, citing the party’s rightward drift.Support among academics is not widespread; Germany’s academic community is largely critical of the AfD, with surveys showing low endorsement rates (e.g., a 2023 study found only about 3-5% of professors sympathize with it). High-profile cases often involve economists or social scientists who align with the party’s critiques of EU policies, migration, or “woke” ideology. Below is a list of the most notable figures, based on their public profiles, media presence, and documented ties. <\/p>\n
1. Winfried St\u00f6cker (Physician and Medical Researcher, MD)Background: Founder of Euroimmun (sold for \u20ac1.2 billion in 2017), a diagnostics company. He studied medicine at the University of L\u00fcbeck and has conducted research in immunology; often described as a “medical entrepreneur” with academic credentials, though not a full professor.
\nAfD Ties: Major donor, giving \u20ac20,000 in 2019 and \u20ac1.5 million in January 2025\u2014the largest single donation to the party at the time. St\u00f6cker has stated the AfD “has many good views” and spreads “some bad ones,” but he supports it for its positions on migration and COVID policies (he controversially self-developed an unapproved vaccine). His financial backing signals strong endorsement.
\nProfile Level: High\u2014known for business success and pandemic controversies; his donations drew widespread media coverage.<\/p>\n
2. Joachim Starbatty (Professor of Economics)<\/p>\n
Emeritus professor at the University of T\u00fcbingen, specializing in European economic policy. Co-author of euroskeptic works and a key figure in early anti-euro movements.
\nAfD Ties: Founding member and part of the party’s scientific advisory board since 2013. He ran as an AfD candidate in the 2014 European elections and has defended the party’s economic critiques, though he’s less vocal on its cultural-nationalist shift.
\nProfile Level: Moderate to high\u2014prominent in euroskeptic debates; his involvement helped legitimize the AfD early on.<\/p>\n
3. Roland Vaubel (Professor of Economics)
\nEmeritus professor at the University of Mannheim, focusing on international economics and monetary policy. Known for libertarian-leaning views.
\nAfD Ties: Elected to the AfD’s scientific advisory board in 2013; early supporter who advised on euro-criticism. He has not publicly distanced himself and continues to align with the party’s economic nationalism.
\nProfile Level: Moderate\u2014respected in academic economics circles, though less publicly controversial.<\/p>\n
4. Hans-Thomas Tillschneider (Professor of Islamic Studies)<\/p>\n
Professor at the University of Bayreuth, specializing in Arabic philology and Islamic history.
\nAfD Ties: Active AfD politician since 2016; member of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament and the party’s federal executive board. He endorses the AfD’s anti-Islam stance, often criticizing multiculturalism, and has faced accusations of right-wing extremism (e.g., links to identitarian groups). His academic work informs the party’s cultural policies.
\nProfile Level: Moderate\u2014known in regional politics and for controversial statements on Islam.<\/p>\n
5. Marc Jongen (Lecturer in Philosophy, PhD)<\/p>\n
Philosopher and lecturer at the Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design; influenced by thinkers like Heidegger and Sloterdijk.
\nAfD Ties: AfD Bundestag member since 2017; serves on committees for education and culture. He provides intellectual framing for the party’s “new right” ideology, defending it against “left-green” dominance in academia.
\nProfile Level: Moderate\u2014seen as the AfD’s “house philosopher” in media profiles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Grok says: Thilo Sarrazin, the German economist, former SPD politician, Berlin finance senator, and ex-Bundesbank board member, remains a prominent and controversial figure known for his sharp critiques of immigration, particularly from Muslim-majority countries, as well as related topics like … Continue reading