The anti-riot police charge against 20,000 anti-fascist demonstrators at the German far-right congress
Alternative for Germany (AfD) has coincided the appointment with the anniversary of a key Nazi party conference
BarcelonaRiot police have clashed with protesters demonstrating against the congress of the far-right party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), in the streets of Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. Police reported that 20,000 protesters were demonstrating in this city in eastern Germany, where Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla have been re-elected co-chairs of the party before decisive regional elections, in which the AfD could come to state power for the first time.
The AfD held its congress coinciding with the centenary of a Nazi party conference in nearby Weimar, where Adolf Hitler introduced the Nazi salute, which has generated outrage across the country. However, the organization claims it was a coincidence. The protesters were called by the alliance Widersetzen (Disobey), which brings together the Greens and the Left, as well as trade unions and other groups. The protesters staged sit-ins in the city center to try to prevent the approximately 600 AfD delegates from reaching the congress venue. Some descended with ropes from a highway bridge, and others attached themselves to tram tracks.
Despite the charges, a police spokesperson told Die Zeit that the mobilization had been "mostly peaceful" and added that so far almost a hundred violations had been registered, many related to material damage caused by graffiti. According to a spokesperson for the far-right party, 540 of its delegates were able to access the congress on time, which began as planned at five in the afternoon local time. The organization promotes racist and Islamophobic policies and has been criticized for downplaying Nazi crimes.
The party, which hopes to increase its membership from 75,000 to 100,000 this year, faces the autumn electoral cycle with good prospects: in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, it starts with a voting intention of 41% and 35% respectively, and in the capital, Berlin, it remains at 18%, according to Infratest Dimap.
