by Thousands of people across Germany took to the streets for a fourth day in a row to voice their opposition to the far-right populist party AfD after politicians from the party met with neo-Nazis to develop a “master plan”. discussion for deportation of asylum seekers. and German citizens of foreign origin.
There have been protests in Leipzig, Rostock, Essen and Berlin in the last few days.
The AfD leadership has tried to distance itself from the November meeting on the outskirts of Potsdam, west of Berlin, investigative journalism network Correctiv revealed on Wednesday. However, some members of the party were involved and have given their support to the ideas discussed since then.
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On Monday, Alice Weidel, co-chair of the party, announced that she was separating from her adviser Roland Hartwig, after confirming his participation in the event. Weidel said she had no knowledge of his involvement and said the AfD did not support the deportation plan.
Party members said Hartwig, a former manager of the chemicals firm Bayer who spent four years as an AfD MP, was a respected and important member of the AfD and would continue to play an important role behind the scenes, which prompted accusations that Weidel’s decision was involved. it was a tactical move to see that she and the party are far from the event.
Among the MPs who gave public support to the ideas discussed at the meeting was René Springer, representative of the state of Brandenburg in the federal government. On X, he stated that the plan was only a promise that the AfD would fulfill if it came to power. “We will send foreigners back to their homeland. Millions of them. That’s not a #secret plan. That is a promise,” he wrote.
German media did not hold back in drawing parallels between the Potsdam meeting and the infamous Wannsee conference in 1942, when high-ranking Nazis and government figures gathered at a lakeside town to discuss how to coordinate the implementation of the Nazi plan for mass destruction. The Jews of Europe.
Wolfgang Thierse, former president of the German parliament who is considered a moral authority in the country, threw his weight behind an initiative to see if the party could be banned on the grounds of anti-constitutionality.
He also offered his support to a petition seeking to revoke the fundamental rights of prominent members who were considered enemies of the constitution. A petition aimed specifically against Thuringia AfD group leader Björn Höcke has gained traction since the revelations of the Potsdam meeting and by Tuesday had received more than 830,000 signatures.
Representatives of the judges issued a joint statement on Monday, condemning the meeting.
“What happened in a small circle in Potsdam in November is a terrifying sight. Specifically it is an attack on the constitution and the liberal constitutional state,” said the German Judges Association, the German Bar Association and four affiliated organizations.
Thierse told broadcaster DLF that the “shoulder shrugging” was an insufficient reaction to the rise of the 11-year-old AfD, which has been surging in the polls in recent months.
“Our democracy is in a critical state,” he said. “Some of this reminds us of events 90 years ago. In 1930, the Nazi party stood at 14.15%, and three years later it was in power and ended democracy.”
The European parliament is set to debate the resurgence of neo-fascism across the continent on Tuesday evening, after a last-minute agenda item was added to address a chilling video from Italy that showed the hundreds of men performing fascist salutes earlier this month.
The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) put the debate on the agenda. Its members were “shocked and saddened” by the images, S&D leader Iratxe García said in a statement.
“The rise of neofascism is a dark cloud that is coming across parts of Europe,” García said. “It is both unacceptable and appalling that we will still see such scenes in 2024.”
García also targeted the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, for her response to the issue. “Even more disappointing is the lack of consequences and the lack of a clear, decisive response from the prime minister,” she said. “Why did Meloni choose silence? Why didn’t she condemn these disturbing images?”
The parliamentary group Renew Europe asked Meloni to criticize the actions shown in the video.
“While the gruesome ceremony in Italy has been seen before, it is a sign of a growing concern in far-right groups across Europe,” he said in a statement.
