Protests at far-right party’s conference as Germany’s election campaign warms up
The two-day conference started a little over two hours late as many delegates’ trips to the venue were slowed by blockades.
Thousands of people demonstrated against a conference of the far-right Alternative for Germany party on Saturday, blocking some roads and delaying the start as parties launched their campaigns for the country’s election next month.
A heavy police presence was in place in Riesa, in the eastern state of Saxony, a stronghold of Alternative for Germany, or AfD, and officers cleared some protesters from the streets.
However, the two-day conference started a little over two hours late as many delegates’ trips to the venue were slowed by blockades.
AfD formally nominated co-leader Alice Weidel as its candidate for chancellor.
Ms Weidel, who was among those held up, thanked delegates for “defying the left-wing mob and getting here”.
Polls show AfD in second place ahead of the February 23 election, with about 20% support.
However Ms Weidel, who this week held a live chat with tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has endorsed the party, on his X platform, has no realistic chance of becoming Germany’s leader as other parties refuse to work with AfD.
It is the mainstream conservative opposition Union bloc that leads polls with about 30% and its candidate, Friedrich Merz, is the favourite to become the next chancellor.
The Union is focusing on boosting Germany’s stagnant economy in particular and on reducing irregular migration.
Ms Weidel described it as a “party of fraudsters” on Saturday, urging people to “vote for the original” and strengthen her party.
She called for the closure of Germany’s borders to undocumented migration and large-scale deportations of asylum-seekers, making clear that she has no problem with the politically charged term “remigration”.
She pledged to return to service the Nord Stream gas pipeline that was damaged in 2022 explosions shortly after Russia cut off gas supplies to Germany.
And she won loud applause for saying that AfD would tear down all wind turbines, which she described as “windmills of shame”, if it came to power.
At a news conference in Hamburg, Mr Merz concentrated on his own party’s offer of “fundamental change” after the unpopular and notoriously rancorous coalition of centre-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz collapsed.
Mr Scholz is hoping for a come-from-behind victory, but there has been little sign of significant movement so far in polls that show support for his Social Democrats at 14-17%.
His coalition government collapsed in November when he fired his finance minister in a dispute over how to revitalise the economy, leading to an early election.
Mr Scholz conceded on Saturday that mistakes were made and said that “maybe I should also have ended the coalition earlier”.
But he said that it is time to look to the future. “Let’s fight,” he told delegates at a party conference in Berlin.
