On Saturday, around 3,000 people took part in a protest against the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party in the city of Erfurt, capital of the state of Thuringia, a day before elections for the state parliament there.
A demonstration march, organised by the alliance “Auf die Plätze” (On your marks), marched through the city centre to Dom Square, where the AfD – which is doing well in the opinion polls – held its rally to mark the end of the election campaign.
The AfD drew some 1,300 supporters, municipal officials told dpa. In addition to local AfD member and leading candidate Björn Höcke, the party’s federal chairwoman Alice Weidel was also present.
In the end, the AfD and “On Your Marks” meetings took place about 100 meters apart in Erfurt city center.
There was a massive police presence to keep the two camps apart.
Local police received support from officers from the states of Hesse, Lower Saxony, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a spokesman said.
No significant incidents were reported during either meeting.
Pasture say AfD could make history
After a heated election campaign, a new state parliament will be elected in Thuringia on Sunday.
Weidel told the demonstrators, who blew whistles and chanted, that the AfD would “ban Antifa as a terrorist organization” if the party came into government.
On Sunday, the AfD could make history in Thuringia and neighboring Saxony and in a few weeks in Brandenburg if it wins the election, Weidel said. All three states were part of the former East Germany.
“Let’s paint the East blue so that everyone experiences a blue miracle,” she said, referring to the traditional color of her holiday. In German, “a blue miracle” is a term for a nasty surprise, or the shock of someone’s life.
AfD supporters repeatedly chanted “East, East, East Germany,” but also “deport, deport.” Höcke accused the other parties of having “lost the people.” The AfD could “write history” on Sunday, he claimed.
Counter-demonstrators to sing “Nazisout”
The counter-demonstrators shouted “Nazis out” or “Höcke out.” According to the police, several participants in that demonstration wore masks. This was in violation of the Assembly Act. Some of those affected removed their masks after the police confronted them.
“We will not allow the AfD to dominate the election weekend with their far-right agitation, intimidate people and abuse our city as a stage for their propaganda,” the alliance said.
A week ago, thousands of people took to the streets in Erfurt to protest against the far right and the shift to the right in politics.
The latest polls in Thuringia show that there is little movement in the values of the individual parties: the AfD led the way with values between 29% and 30%, followed by the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the new populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) and the far-left party Die Linke (Links).
A total of 1.66 million residents of Thuringia are eligible to vote in Sunday’s state elections.
