Thousands gather in Germany to protest far-right AfD congress
In the German town of Riesa, thousands of protesters gathered to support Alice Weidel as the party’s candidate for chancellor in the upcoming snap election.
After police cleared thousands of protesters mounting blockades in the AfD stronghold town of Saxony, the meeting, which brought 600-odd delegates together on Saturday, eventually moved two hours behind schedule.
Protest organisers, who said 12, 000 people from around the country turned up for the demonstration, said police hit groups of demonstrators and used pepper spray to disperse them.
Maria Schmidt, spokeswoman for the protest organisers, said: “Today we are protecting the right of people to live in safety without the fear of deportation or being attacked.
” We are all making it clear: Riesa is not a peaceful place for fascism, “she said.
Police claimed about 8, 000 demonstrators had assembled outside the town’s convention centre. No serious unrest was reported by a spokesman by late morning, but one road leading to Riesa remained blocked by protesters.
Weidel praised her party colleagues for “feigning the left-wing mob” as the congress moved inside the convention center, “while party co-leader Tino Chrupalla accused the demonstrators of acting like” anti-democrats and terrorists.”
‘Remigration’
Weidel, who was endorsed by tech billionaire Elon Musk this week in a livestreamed chat on X, has no conceivable chance of leading Germany in the February 23 election, according to analysts.
Other parties have refused to work with the far-right party despite polls indicating that it has the support of about 20% of the electorate and is currently in second place.
Delegates will finalize the party’s election strategy during the two-day AfD meeting, with one proposed amendment calling for a broad-ranging “remigration” campaign. This would include a broad expulsion campaign from Germany.
The party leadership’s plans to replace its Junge Alternative (“Young Alternative”) youth wing, which intelligence services have labeled an extremist organization, have also sparked controversy.
A pledge to leave the euro and reverse Germany’s nuclear withdrawal are also included in the manifesto’s draft draft.
‘ Let’s fight ‘
The main conservative opposition Union bloc, which currently has about 30% of votes, favors candidate Friedrich Merz as the next chancellor.
The Union’s goals are to promote both the stagnant economy and the reduction of irregular immigration.
At a news conference in Hamburg, Merz focused on bringing” fundamental change “after the unpopular and fractious coalition of centre-left , Chancellor Olaf Scholz , collapsed in November.
Scholz’s coalition government , fell apart after he fired his finance minister in a dispute over how to revitalise the economy, leading to an early election.
Scholz acknowledged on Saturday that mistakes had been made, but he now believes the future holds promise.
At a party convention in Berlin, he remarked, “Let’s fight,” before formally confirming his candidacy with a show of hands.
Source: Aljazeera
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