Thousands of people demonstrated against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) convention, as political parties begin campaigning for the country’s elections next month.
There was a heavy police presence in Riesa, in the eastern state of Saxony, where the AfD is stronghold, and officers removed some demonstrators from the streets. However, the two-day competition started just over two hours late as the lockdown delayed many participants’ travel to the venue.
The AfD formally nominated its co-leader Alice Weidell as its candidate for prime minister, with applause. Weidel, one of those detained, thanked the deputies for “ignoring the left-wing mob and getting here.”
Opinion polls show the AfD in second place with around 20% support ahead of the February 23 election. But Weidell, who had a live chat on X with tech billionaire Elon Musk this week, has no realistic chance of becoming Germany’s leader as other parties refuse to cooperate with the AfD. There isn’t.
The conservative opposition coalition bloc has a lead of about 30% in opinion polls, and its candidate, Friedrich Merz, is the frontrunner to become the next prime minister.
Incumbent centre-left Prime Minister Olaf Scholz is hoping for a victory, but opinion polls show little sign of any significant movement, with support for the Social Democrats at 14-17%.
Scholz is leading a minority government after an unpopular and maligned three-party coalition collapsed in November after he sacked Germany’s finance minister over a dispute over how to revitalize Germany’s stagnant economy. The election will be held seven months earlier than originally scheduled.
Scholz acknowledged on Saturday that a mistake had been made and said: “Maybe we should have dissolved the coalition sooner.” But he said it was time to look to the future. “Let’s fight,” he told delegates at the party’s convention in Berlin, formally confirming his nomination as the party’s candidate with a show of hands.
He accused the Merz union of having no plan to seriously address Germany’s problems and making “big promises to the absolute highest earners” that would “tear the budget into a huge hole.” “It will be a big deal,” he said.
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Scholz named Germany one of Ukraine’s main arms suppliers in the war with Russia, but refused to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles and reiterated his “firm and cautious” approach. I promised.
And he reiterated his opposition to Donald Trump’s recently announced plans for Greenland and other territories, without naming the president-elect. “It applies to all countries.” West. All nations, whether small or very large and powerful, must abide by this principle. ”
“Public condemnation from Germany has never made an impression in America, and in principle has the opposite effect,” Merz said.
