With Germany’s federal election just weeks away, and in the wake of two contentious parliamentary votes, tens of thousands of citizens rallied across the country to voice concern over the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and anger at chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Demonstrations drew large crowds in Aachen, Augsburg, Braunschweig, Bremen, Cologne, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Leipzig, Würzburg and a number of smaller cities.
Further rallies are planned for tomorrow, with the largest expected to be in Berlin.
Merz and CDU targeted for tearing down extremist ‘firewall’
Most demonstrations were aimed at chancellor candidate Merz, who presented two anti-immigration bills in the Bundestag this week, both of which garnered support from the business-focused Free Democrats (FDP), the left-wing populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) party — and most notably, from the far-right AfD.
The AfD party is classified as a “suspected” far-right extremist organization
On Wednesday, a non-binding motion was passed by all three parties. A proposed “Immigration Influx Law,” which would have been legally binding, was narrowly defeated on Friday.
Merz’s insistence on pushing for the votes in the knowledge that he would need AfD support to pass them was harshly criticized as a breach of a post-WWII German taboo aimed to keep the far-right out of power.
Since the end of World War II, all of the country’s established parties have refrained from working with extremist parties as a result of the lessons learned after the National Socialists (Nazis) used democratic means to ascend to power. The Nazis had established a totalitarian system of government that cast the world into chaos and destroyed the country.
In modern Germany, politicians from any other part of the political spectrum were expected to refuse any collaboration with far-right parties, under what the Germans call the “firewall.”
Merz’s willingness to ignore this consensus has led to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) saying that the “firewall” has fallen.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, also in the SPD, said Merz’s decisions this week “shamed the conservative CDU/CSU alliance and damaged democracy as a whole.”
Protesters urge Merz to ‘listen to Mutti’ Merkel
Demonstrators focused on the upcoming election, which Merz and the CDU/CSU look likely to win. Merz’s predecessor as party chair, former Chancellor Angela Merkel — who opened the door to a mass influx of Syrian and Afghan immigrants during her 16 years in office — also featured prominently at Saturday’s protests.
Merkel, who is known for her discretion, took the rare step of publicly chastising Merz’s political brinksmanship this week, condemning cooperation with AfD.
In Cologne, protesters held placards reading “Fritz listen to Mutti!” using nicknames for both Merz and Merkel, who was sometimes mockingly referred to as the mother of the nation during her time in office.
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach had also taken part in the demonstration in front of the famous Cologne Cathedral.
AfD and supporters face resistance from demonstrators
In some cities, such as Neu-Isenburg near Frankfurt (9,000 participants), as well as in Göttingen (5,000) and Hildesheim (8,000), the CDU was not the primary target of demonstrators ire but the AfD itself.
Near Frankfurt, demonstrators protested an AfD campaign event and clashed with police as well as attempting to set police vehicles ablaze.
Another target was the so-called “Querdenker” (lateral thinkers) scene, which had called for its own Saturday demonstrations under the motto, “Policies against the people?”
Querdenker are a loose collection of citizens who march to express opposition to the government policies, vaccines, the media, immigration and other issues. The Querdenker movement originally sprang up to resist COVID-19 restrictions.
In Göttingen as elsewhere, counter-demonstrations to scheduled Querdenker speeches, a march and an automobile convoy, were mobilized by the so-called “Alliance against the Right,” consisting of church, union and civil society groups.
Police reported several clashes between opposing groups. Eyewitnesses also reported that police used truncheons when removing counter-protesters blocking the route of the Querdenker procession.
Police said its officers were attacked with fireworks, bottles and eggs. Mounted police were ultimately called in to quell the situation.
‘Merz misunderstood his role’
Bavarian leader of CDU sister party backs Merz’s decision
Although demonstrators on Saturday were angry at Merz’s tactics, he also received backing for his gambit from a prominent German leader.
Markus Söder, who leads the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party to Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), voiced public support for this week’s parliamentary votes, calling the decision to move them forward “key.”
“He has chosen this path as the CDU’s candidate for chancellor and thus shown that he is serious about turning around asylum policy,” said Söder, who is also Bavaria’s state premier.
js/wd (dpa, EPD)