BREAKING: Berlin DJ, AfD party members caught destroying democracy and furthering fascism by singing and playing the 1999 Italodance club anthem "L'amour toujours"

Also open thread.

A spectre is haunting Germany – the spectre of an indifferent 25 year-old Italodance hit called “L’amour toujours.” For a long time nobody cared about this song, but then some naughty people began singing the lyrics “Ausländer raus” (“foreigners out”) and “Deutschland den Deutschen” (“Germany for the Germans”) to its tune, thereby forging it into a great fascistic weapon. As of July, German police had responded to 368 occurrences of “L’amour toujours”-inspired fascism. It is amazing our democracy has survived this bitter onslaught.

The press have not reported very much on the “L’amour toujours” menace of late, but that does not mean the threat has faded. If anything, it is much worse than before. Fascism, you see, is basically a virus with powerful infectious properties. Now that fascists have spread their fascism to “L’amour toujours,” there is every possibility that “L’amour toujours” will spread its own fascism in turn to innocent listeners. That is how fascism works.

Alas, not everybody has gotten the memo. Yesterday, a DJ ventured to play “L’amour toujours” at the annual Hoffest in Berlin, causing yet another paroxysm of national antifascist hysteria:

The playing of the party hit “L’amour toujours” at the Hoffest in Berlin’s Rotes Rathaus caused great outrage among the guests. “The song … has become a well-known symbol of the far-right scene. It’s therefore forbidden to play this song at the mayor’s party,” Senate spokeswoman Christine Richter said.

The Hoffest on Tuesday evening was celebrated in a spirit of internationality, diversity, cohesion, solidarity and freedom. “The DJ’s actions stand in contrast to this and they’re absolutely tasteless,” Richter said. “We’ve learned our lesson. We’ll no longer work with the DJ next year and we’ll also discuss the playlist in more detail during planning.”

Berlin’s mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) called the action “absolutely tasteless” during a press conference… “Songs like that don’t belong in the Rotes Rathaus or anywhere else,” he said.

According to a report in the Tagesspiegel … the playing of the song caused booing. Several guests left … in protest, including former Kreuzberg mayor Monika Herrmann, who shouted “That’s absolutely unacceptable.” According to the newspaper, the DJ responded by saying: “It’s a good song, I won’t let Nazis ruin it.” The dance floor is said to have remained empty afterwards.

The song “L’amour toujours” by Italian DJ Gigi D'Agostino is repeatedly misused for xenophobic slogans … Playing the song is therefore controversial, and some have discussed banning it.

It was the second “L’amour toujours” superspreading incident in just three days, following an even graver incident wherein some people were caught humming the fascist tune during Björn Höcke’s post-election celebration in Thüringen:

… As the AfD, which is classed as proven right-wing extremist, celebrated its 32.8% victory after the state elections in Thüringen, revellers sung the melody of “L’amour toujours,” while party and parliamentary group leader Björn Höcke stood in the middle of it all. The scene was captured on the YouTube livestream of Compact Magazine, which is also categorised as right-wing extremist …

A fascist media organisation films fascists singing a fascist song. This is like fasc-ception or something.

“This self-indulgent right-wing extremist provocation is simply infuriating,” right-wing extremism expert Lorenz Blumenthaler from the Amadeu Antonio Foundation says… “It employs a racist meme without even having to repeat the content, because the voters know what it means,” he says. “It’s a modern far-right party … drunk on the success of its own racist agitation.” …

What influence did the song have on the electoral success of the AfD in Thuringia and Saxony? “The right-wing extremist meme alone did not cause the AfD’s election results, but of course it contributes to the normalisation and self-trivialisation of racist and right-wing extremist attitudes,” Blumenthaler adds.

Now, you might be thinking that Blumenthaler sounds a little unbalanced, but those who truly understand fascism will recognise that he is, if anything, understating the danger. The problem with fascist songs like “L’amour toujours,” is that they can literally plant racist right-wing thoughts in anybody’s mind, without anyone having to say anything particularly racist or right-wing!

Music is particularly dangerous because it is impossible to escape, Blumenthaler says. The melody of “L’Amour toujours” alone is enough for everyone to know what is meant. “The lyrics are mentally supplied without having to be spoken. This is an enormous metapolitical success that is repeatedly fuelled and strategically exploited by the AfD.”

This musical “far-right meme” has recently become the “unofficial AfD anthem,” Blumenthaler adds … “It’s no longer even necessary to sing ‘foreigners out’ to make it clear what is meant. Racist and right-wing extremist content can be conveyed through seemingly harmless music without committing a criminal offence.”

Lorenz Blumenthaler bravely opposing fascism in front of a taxi stand somewhere.