Germany’s far right is in a buoyant mood.
On Saturday, while its conference was under way in the eastern town of Riesa, in Saxony, Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) laid out ambitions to close Germany’s borders, resume buying Russian gas and, in effect, dismantle the EU.
German media reported that party’s agreed manifesto includes plans to quit the Paris climate deal, exit the Euro currency and create a new confederation of states.
The AfD’s leader, Alice Weidel, even publicly embraced the term “remigration” – a word that’s widely understood to mean the mass “return” or deportation of people with a migrant background.
Thousands of anti-AfD protestors swarmed the streets in Riesa on Saturday, seeking to obstruct access to the conference venue.
When Alice Weidel eventually took to the stage, she described the activists outside as a “left-wing mob.”
And, in front a delighted conference hall of delegates, spoke of “large-scale repatriations”.
“And I have to be honest with you: if it’s going to be called remigration, then that’s what it’s going to be: remigration,” she said.
There were nationwide anti-AfD demonstrations after it emerged that senior party figures had been among those at a meeting where “remigration” was allegedly discussed with Martin Sellner, an Austrian far-right activist who has a neo-Nazi past.
The AfD is consistently polling second in Germany and made gains in recent regional elections in the country’s east – where the party is strongest.
However, it’s highly unlikely to win power because other parties won’t work with the AfD.
Sections of the AfD have been classed by domestic intelligence as right-wing extremist.
Credit: bbc.com
