Anarchist Pogo Party of Germany

The Anarchist Pogo Party of Germany (German: Anarchistische Pogo Partei Deutschlands; APPD) is a German frivolous party which campaigns in support of unemployment benefits, direct democracy and the Balkanization of Germany. Established in 1981, it has run in a number of elections since it registered as a political party in 1997.

The Anarchist Pogo Party of Germany (German: Anarchistische Pogo Partei Deutschlands; APPD) was first established in 1981,^[1] by a group of punks in Hanover.^[2] It soon became a party for the emerging German punk subculture,^[3] announcing itself to the public in 1984.^[2] The new party sought to create a support base from "non-voters, plebs and benefit fraudsters".^[4]

For most of the 1980s and 1990s, the party failed to generate substantial media attention. This changed when it began participating in elections^[5] and officially registered as a political party.^[6] It first ran in the 1997 Hamburg state election,^[5] then in the subsequent 1998 German federal election.^[7] The party ran with the promise that it would give free beer to anyone who voted for them.^[8] Despite this, it won only ~0.1% of the vote.^[6] In the 2011 Berlin state election, the APPD claimed to have won a plurality of the vote, as it had instructed supporters to either vote for it or to abstain; the party therefore claimed all 39.8% of eligible voters who did not turn out.^[9] The party attempted to run in the 2021 German federal election under the slogan "work is shit", but their application was rejected, as it had only been submitted electronically.^[8]

The APPD programme mixes together elements of political satire and serious proposals for reform.^[6] As a frivolous party, its aim is to challenge the Establishment and political correctness.^[10] Unlike classical anarchism, which rejects the existence of the state, the APPD supports a limited state in which citizens participate in decision making through direct democracy and e-democracy.^[6] It takes the "Groucho-Marxist" approach to anti-statism, suggesting that people wean themselves off the state.^[11]

The APPD calls for the borders of Germany to be restored to those of the Holy Roman Empire, as they were in 1237 under Frederick II.^[4] The party further proposes the "Balkanization" of Germany^[12] by dividing the country into separate cantons for each of the so-called "pogo-races": one for the "social parasites" who live off state welfare; one for the "achievers" who pursue careers and earn money; and one for violent people such as criminals and neo-Nazis to fight each other.^[6] By creating separate living spaces for different classes of people, it hopes to protect "pogo-anarchists" from normality.^[9]

The party adopts an anti-work ethic, which celebrates idleness and calls for the "right to be unemployed".^[13] It demands the extension of paid unemployment to all, as a human right.^[4] The party also proposes the replacement of the old age pension with a "young age pension", to allow young people to spend their time enjoying themselves rather than working. As a response to the 2011 Germany E. coli O104:H4 outbreak, it suggested that people adopt an all-beer diet.^[9] According to sociologist Knud Andresen, the party had something of a "cult of alcohol consumption".^[14] Among its slogans are "power to the anti-socials!";^[9] Another calls for the "total re-stupefication of mankind".^[4]

• Anarcho-punk
• List of political parties in Germany
• List of frivolous political parties

• Meinert, Philipp (2013). "'Liebes Stimmvieh, die APPD ist eine ganz normale Partei...!' Die Anarchistische Pogo-Partei Deutschlands". In Meinert, Philipp; Seeliger, Martin (eds.). Punk in Deutschland: Sozial- und kulturwissenschaftliche Perspektiven (in German). transcript Verlag. pp. 83–105. ISBN 9783839421628.

• (in German) APPD-Berlin website