There is a large police presence and expectations of over 10,000 counter-protesters when the German party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) holds its party congress this weekend.
This is written by the news agency dpa.
The congress begins on Saturday morning in the East German town of Riesa. The first demonstrations have begun.
Pictures show that protesters immediately leading up to the congress have, among other things, blocked roads by sitting down. At the German media Bild, you can see how the police break up the blockade.
The right-wing AfD is known, among other things, for its strongly critical immigration policy. The party is holding a congress at a time when Germany is in the election campaign ahead of an election for the Bundestag on 23 February.
In general, the situation is calm on Saturday morning, writes dpa. But the authorities expect violent demonstrations and have established a control zone in Riesa.
The organizers of the demonstrations expect that the participants will come in more than 100 buses from around 70 different cities. They are expecting over 10,000 counter-protesters.
Recently, Tesla and SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk has expressed support for the AfD.
Among other things, he has written that the AfD is the only party that “can save Germany”.
This has led the German government to accuse him of election interference ahead of the German general election, while Musk himself earlier this week conducted an interview with AfD leader Alice Weidel, which was broadcast on the social media X.
In general, it is a busy weekend in German politics.
The social democratic SPD – which holds the chancellor’s post, but is faring poorly in opinion polls – is also holding a congress this weekend. Meanwhile, the board of the conservative CDU concludes a two-day meeting.
Surveys leading up to the upcoming election show that the CDU/CSU is set to become the largest, the AfD the second largest and the SPD the third largest.
/ritzau/
Source: www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk
