Thousands of people protested against a convention of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Saturday, blocking several roads and delaying the start of the meeting where the party launched its campaign for the February elections.
A significant police presence was seen on Saturday in Riesa, in the eastern state of Saxony, which is a stronghold for the AfD. Police removed some of the protesters from the streets.
However, the two-day convention started about two hours late, as many delegates were delayed due to the roadblocks.
The AfD officially nominated co-chair Alice Weidel as its candidate for Chancellor of Germany. Weidel thanked the delegates for “challenging the left-wing crowd to get here.”
Polls show that the AfD is in second place ahead of the February 23 elections, with about 20 percent support.
However, Weidel – who this week held a live conversation on X with tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has supported her party – has little chance of becoming Germany’s leader, as other parties refuse to cooperate with the AfD.
The main opposition party, the Union bloc, leads in the polls with around 30 percent, and its candidate, Friedrich Merz, is the favorite to become the next chancellor.
The Union is focusing on reviving Germany’s sluggish economy and limiting irregular immigration.
On Saturday, Weidel criticized the Union as a “party of deceivers,” urging people to “vote for the real deal” and strengthen her party.
Weidel called for the closure of Germany’s borders to unauthorized immigrants and the expulsion of asylum seekers.
She promised to resume operations of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which was damaged in the 2022 explosions after Russia cut off Germany’s gas supply. Weidel received loud applause when she stated that the AfD would dismantle all wind turbines – which she described as “windmills of shame” – if it came to power.
In a press conference in Hamburg, Merz focused on his party’s offer for “deep changes” after the unstable and contested left-center coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz fell apart.
Scholz hopes for a surprise victory, but polls show that support for his Social Democrats is between 14-17 percent.
His government fell in November when he dismissed the finance minister after a disagreement on how to revive the economy, leading Germany to early elections. Scholz admitted on Saturday that mistakes had been made and said, “Maybe I should have dissolved the coalition earlier,” according to REL.
However, he said it was time to look forward. “Let’s fight,” he said to delegates at a party congress in Berlin, where he was officially confirmed as the candidate for chancellor.
He accused Merz’s Union of lacking serious plans to address Germany’s issues.
