Nobody is giving conservatives a pass. But we aren't going to solve the problem if we don't spend time understanding why people are voting the way they're voting in an international trend, and it isn't that everyone just became a lot more racist overnight; it's because in many countries, the reality has become choosing between a more social liberal or social conservative neoliberal party, and one would need to be blind at this point to see it's the second part of that descriptor people are done with.

I'm saying this as someone who is absolutely a lesser of the evils voter and advocated for such; but I also understand what's actually driving support for people like Trump, AfD, and the like, and it isn't a surge in intolerance; it's material conditions, like it almost always is.

The criticism gets directed at the center left more than the center right because they are the ones more politically viable to change, or at least that's been the view. Conservatives concentrating wealth and power in the hands of a few is itself a conservative position in the traditional sense. Any party claiming to be left should be antithetical towards that.

Don't mistake that for giving conservatives a pass. They're worse, I'll absolutely vote center left neoliberal if they are the only alternative; but convincing them is to fundamentally change their views more than a center left party.

There may be a gap here in the definition of "liberal". Liberalism is a political philosophy that also encompasses most traditional conservatives. It is different from the colloquial usage. It's loosely defined as the belief in individual freedoms, including the right to private property. It is inherently capitalist and therefore socialists, communists and anarchists generally do not consider them to be of the left.

No they aren't. The liberals and conservatives are both being blamed because they are both part of the problem. 2 sides of the same coin.

Liberals are being assigned blame because they are worthy of blame.

Conservatives know they are to blame, telling them that does nothing. Liberals think they are helping the working class and at the very least are discomforted when confronted with the reality of their actions (sometimes).

Sometimes I think it must be a psyops by the billionaires to divide and demoralize the left. Then I remember some people are just so dumb.

It's their go to.

Like yeah, milquetoast policies ultimately lead us here but they have more fury for the people doing moderately OK but ultimately unsatisfactory things than the people actually going hog wild, robbing everyone blind, instituting fascism, etc.

because liberals are the prime reason of fascists rise in power. They pretend to be good while oiling the fascist machine

When the home team who is on defense just allows goal after goal with no defense, and scoring no goals of their own... that's a bad team and deserves criticism if they're the bulwark defenders who are supposed to oppose fascism. Fascists are winning and that is the fault of liberals for a lack of opposition.

Mainstream politicians don't get it, despite seeing it play out in multiple countries with varied culture: people are so done with neoliberlism they will vote for literal fascists before they vote for another neoliberal.

Legal actions are the anti-solution. Making people feel that they don't need the afd because other parties are meeting their needs is the real solution.

There are many actual legal actions taken against AfD and AfD members already, including a period of time where AfD was not allowed to receive briefings regarding national security, something that is a right for all members of the Bundestag.

But nothing to actually solve ordinary people's problems and show that there's a way other than fascism. In the absence of that, defensive democracy is nothing more than theater.

people vote for because they are unhappy with the current situation. Caused by Covid, Ukraine War, Russian energy sanctions against EU before the Ukraine war that was very damaging to German industries, and now Eu sanctions against Russia that have similar effect. Followed by the damage on energy supplies like wood pellets from the Ukraine war, and on top of all that Trumps ridiculous tariffs and the effects of the Iran war. This is at the same time we have increased competition from China.

Yeah, it's all those evil foreigners. It can't be the awful mismanagement of the political establishment. Housing crisis? No way.

PS: The impact of Ukraine on energy prices is a direct consequence of EU countries slow-walking decarbonization.

May I ask why you hope for even worse?