George Soros as a Scapegoat for Political Gain
German right-wing populist politician for Alternative für Deutschland published a Facebook post about the Green Party candidate for the chancellorship, Annalena Baerbock, ‘exposing’ her supposed ties with George Soros, in an antisemitic dog whistle to further his political campaign.
German politician for AfD (Alternative für Deutschland, nationalist and right-wing populist party) Martin Sichert published a post on Facebook about Annalena Baerbock, who is a candidate for the chancellorship for the Green Party in the upcoming elections. In the post, Sichert ‘exposes’ that Baerbock is part of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders program, a coaching programme for political leaders which has been attended by leaders such as Jacinda Ardern and Emmanual Macron. Baerbock’s participation in the program is no secret; it is easily accessible on the programme’s website. However, what Sichert focusses on in his Facebook post is George Soros and his ties to the programme and therefore, supposedly, to Baerbock. He states:
“As is well known, billionaire George Soros wants to make the world “better” in his own way by trying to indoctrinate people with an eco-dictatorship directed by him. Every year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the billionaire rants together with other wealthy global elites about what should be forbidden and imposed on people for their “good”. For the implementation, people are needed who implement the plans of the World Economic Forum in the respective countries. To this end, the World Economic Forum founded the Young Global Leaders network. There, promising international young elites from politics, business and society are brought on the Soros course in a 5-year training course. The newly elected green candidate for Chancellor Annalena Baerbock has been one of the handpicked participants in the Young Global Leader program since 2020. So Soros wants to secure far-reaching influence, perhaps even into the Chancellery. If you vote green in September, you will vote for Soros and Co.”
Sichert’s statement contains well-known antisemitic tropes related to Soros. Soros, who is a Jewish billionaire investor and philanthropist, has been at the centre of many conspiracy theories for years. Perhaps the most well-known conspiracy theory related to Soros is the New World Order, which claims that a secret totalitarian world government is set to emerge soon. According to this conspiracy theory, Soros is one of the key players in the alleged ‘world government’. The antisemitic stereotype that Jews are greedy and always in a pursuit of wealth is one that has followed Soros throughout his career. Part of this antisemitic trope is also the idea that Jews exert control over the world’s financial systems, something which we also see back in Baerbock’s Facebook post.
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Using Soros to push antisemitic narratives in politics is not something unique to Germany. In Hungary Orbán’s party, Fidesz, has repeatedly used Soros as a scapegoat for political gain. In July 2017, billboards across the country carried adverts which featured an image of Soros with the text: “Let's not allow Soros to have the last laugh!" – implying that Soros was about to attack Hungary. Moreover, a recent report by Radio Free Europe/Radio liberty which revealed pervasive government interference in Hungary’s public broadcaster showed that journalists were given specific instructions on how to report on Soros. In France too, Soros is portrayed as ‘pulling the strings’ and as an enemy for the country. In 2018, the French conservative magazine Valeurs Actuelles published a series of articles focused on Soros, describing him as “the billionaire conspiring against France”. In the 16-page long piece, three journalists linked Soros to the financing of a number of illegal activities, including “supporting terrorism” and “world disorder”. Soros was also linked to the Black Lives Matter movement, with a far-right German blog depicting him as the “mastermind” behind the movement.
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Very few of these cases mention that Soros is Jewish because this is not needed in order to evoke the antisemitic tropes which have become so imbedded in society. Soros has become a type of code, something which politicians and journalists can use to spread antisemitism without doing so directly. Looking at the comment section under Sichert’s post shows that some of those reading the post are well aware of the narrative being evoked. One commentor refers to Soros as a puppeteer steering Baerbock as his marionette. This image, of a Jewish puppeteer, was one used repeatedly in Nazi propaganda.
The German federal elections are expected to be held on 26th September 2021. The Get The Trolls Out! project will continue to monitor politicians’ media outputs for antisemitic dog whistling as was the case here. Antisemitism is never acceptable, and using it to further a political campaign is a disgrace that must never be normalized.
