Thousands of people tried to prevent Alice Weidell from attending a meeting at which Alice Weidel was chosen as the AfD’s candidate for prime minister in next month’s election.
Thousands of demonstrators shouting “No to the Nazis” gathered in the German town of Riesa as the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) held its main party conference and invited co-leader Alice Weidel to attend. He was approved as the prime minister’s candidate for the snap general election to be held in April.
The conference, which drew more than 600 delegates on Saturday, ended up being postponed by two hours from schedule after police cleared out thousands of demonstrators who had set up a blockade in an AfD-based town in eastern Saxony. It started late.
Protest organizers said 12,000 people from across the country had gathered for the demonstrations, and police said they used pepper spray to beat and disperse groups of demonstrators.
“Today, we are defending people’s right to live in safety without fear of deportation or attack,” Maria Schmidt, a spokeswoman for protest organizers, said in a statement.
“We are all clear that Rīsa is not a peaceful place for fascism,” she said.
Police claimed about 8,000 demonstrators had gathered outside the town’s convention center. A spokesperson said by late morning there were “no serious disturbances” but one road on the way to Riesa remained blocked by protesters.
As the meeting began inside the convention center, Weidel congratulated his party members for “rebelling against the left-wing mob,” while party co-leader Tino Churupala described the protesters as “anti-democrats and terrorists.” accused of taking action.
“Remigration”
Analysts say Weidel, who was endorsed this week by tech billionaire Elon Musk in a livestream chat on X, has no realistic chance of becoming Germany’s leader in the February 23 election. states.
Opinion polls show far-right parties in second place with the support of about 20% of voters, but other parties refuse to cooperate with them.
At the two-day AfD conference, delegates are expected to finalize the party’s election program, with one of the proposed amendments requiring the party to undertake an “immigration” policy, a widespread campaign to expel foreigners from Germany. It is a promise.
Controversy has also been sparked by the party leadership’s plans to replace the Junge Alternative (“Young Alternative”) youth wing, which is classified as an extremist group by intelligence agencies.
The draft manifesto also includes a reversal of withdrawal from the euro and Germany’s withdrawal from nuclear power.
“Let’s fight”
Friedrich Merz, candidate of the conservative mainstream opposition coalition bloc, is currently considered the favorite to become the next prime minister, leading in opinion polls with about 30 percent support.
The coalition is focused on revitalizing Germany’s stagnant economy and reducing irregular immigration.
At a press conference in Hamburg, Merz focused on bringing about “fundamental changes” after the unpopular and dispiriting coalition government of centre-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz collapsed in November. .
Scholz’s coalition government collapsed after he sacked his finance minister over a dispute over how to stimulate the economy, leading to early elections.
Scholz acknowledged Saturday that mistakes were made but 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.
