A far-right party in Germany supported by a conservative movement in protest of a conservative push for tougher immigration laws.
On Sunday, angry protesters gathered in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Leipzig, and other cities to protest Friedrich Merz’s plan to pass a resolution into parliament with the support of the far-right nationalist Alternative for Germany, or AfD.
Many critics say that it broke Germany’s anti-far-right ‘ firewall’, an unwritten post-Nazi promise by all democratic parties to never pass any rule with the support of far-right parties.
In an effort to stop undocumented foreigners at the border, including asylum seekers, the CDU and the AfD successfully passed a non-binding resolution on Wednesday. However, on Friday, they failed to pass a contentious bill to further restrict immigration.
Merz’s support for the far-right and the AfD is drawing unwelcome attention because of the fact that his CDU is currently leading the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the upcoming February 23 federal election.
The SPD has surpassed the AfD in polls, which puts it in second place.
Around 160, 000 people are poured into the streets of central Berlin as a result of a temporary protest that hundreds of protesters have reportedly blocked the CDU’s offices in various cities, according to a police spokesman. Organisers said that more than 200, 000 people turned out.
In separate protests on Saturday, more than 220, 000 people protested across the country, according to figures compiled by public broadcaster ARD.
“]We want to] make as much noise as possible to call for the self-described ‘ democratic ‘ parties to protect this democracy”, Anna Schwarz, who attended Sunday’s rally in Berlin, told AFP.
The 34-year-old said she was joining a political rally for the first time as “we can no longer avert our gaze, it’s too serious”.
In Cologne, people protested on 350 boats on the Rhine River, German news agency dpa reported, with people waving slogans such as “No racism” and “For democracy and diversity”.
The “firewall” is being broken.
Following a deadly knife attack by a detained asylum seeker last month, Merz signed on to the bill.
The CDU leader has been accused by left-leaning protesters of breaking the taboo and putting an end to the “firewall” between mainstream parties and AfD. He claims that he didn’t work for the party and that his position is unchanging.
Polls show the centre-right CDU, which put forward the migration proposal and bill, leading with around 30 percent support, while AfD is second with about 20 percent, and the SPD and Greens further down.
The AfD party, which was established 12 years ago, gained from Angela Merkel’s government’s decision two years prior to allowing a sizable flow of migrants and refugees into Germany in 2017.
Source: Aljazeera
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