AfD meeting while protesters clash with police outside – DW – 29.06.2024

Members of the right-wing extremist Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Saturday re-elected Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel as joint party leaders for another two years.

Chrupalla said he was “a bit overwhelmed” after receiving 82.72 percent of the votes from members at the party conference in Essen’s western district. Weidel received 79.77 percent of the votes.

Both party leaders have seen an increase in support compared to the last party congress two years ago. In the vote in a covered arena, the two politicians faced no opponents from around 600 delegates.

As delegates voted, huge crowds gathered outside to protest against the populist party. Some demonstrators clashed with police, leaving 28 officers injured, one of them in serious condition.

Re-elected politicians call for new elections

In her opening speech at the conference ahead of the vote, Weidel attacked Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition.

“Dear government, finally get out of here and clear the way for new elections,” she said, but added that firewalls against the AfD were not necessary.

Weidel was referring to the refusal of the German established parties to cooperate with the right-wing extremist party.

Chrupalla, meanwhile, said the AfD was “stronger than ever” after the two top politicians brought “peace” to the once divided party.

He also highlighted the growth of the party’s membership. According to him, the AfD now has 46,881 members, 17,723 more than at the beginning of 2023. The membership is expected to exceed the 50,000 mark by the fall, he added.

Michaela Küfner, DW’s chief political correspondent, reported on the AfD party conference.

“The AfD is focusing on what it does best – its anti-immigration stance,” she said. “It has just proven this in the European elections. And despite reports that there could be internal power struggles here, the current party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla were just re-elected. So the AfD is clearly capitalizing on the issue it knows best.”

Clashes between demonstrators and police before AfD party conference

Already on Saturday, police had used pepper spray and batons to prevent a large group of demonstrators from breaking through a barrier near the congress venue.

It is unclear whether any protesters were injured in the incident, which occurred at around 5:45 a.m. (03:45 GMT), but police said they made several arrests and some officers were attacked.

Several hundred protesters temporarily blocked the exit of a highway, others occupied streets and intersections near the convention center.

“At times, politicians and members of the AfD needed police protection to get to the venue,” says DW political correspondent Alex Gerst. However, the wave of protests calmed down towards the afternoon.

“Yes, there were clashes, but fewer than expected. It was mostly a peaceful protest by members of the church congregations, the climate movement Fridays for Future and Grandmas Against the Right. They all came together to send a signal that the city of Essen does not welcome the AfD party conference.”

Police later reported that one officer was seriously injured by being kicked in the head and was taken to hospital. They had previously said two officers were in serious condition, but one officer’s injuries were found to be less serious after a medical examination.

“There were several violent riots in the Rüttenscheld district. Demonstrators, some of them masked, attacked security forces. Several arrests were made,” said a police statement.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wished the injured police officers a speedy recovery. “We need strong democratic forces and peaceful protests against right-wing extremism and racism,” she wrote on X. Violence “cannot be justified by anything.”

High security presence

As a security measure, several thousand police officers were deployed to prevent unrest.

In total, around 100,000 participants were expected to take part in the demonstrations against the anti-immigration, ultra-conservative AfD, which is gaining popularity especially in the former communist east of the country.

Although the organizers said the protests would be peaceful, the police feared violence from around 1,000 left-wing extremists who also planned to demonstrate. The authorities appealed to the demonstrators to “stay away from violent actions and troublemakers.”

Around 5,000 demonstrators took part in a musical rally on Friday evening under the motto “Bass against Hate”.

The Essen authorities had tried for months to prevent the AfD’s two-day party conference from taking place in the city, but ultimately failed in court.

Secret service monitors AfD activities

The AfD is being monitored by the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) as a suspected right-wing extremist organization. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution warns that the party poses a racist, anti-Semitic and anti-democratic threat to Germany.

Despite such warnings and a series of scandals, the party came second in Germany in the European elections on 9 June and even first in the five former communist eastern federal states.

They are also likely to become the strongest party in three of these eastern German states – Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg – in the elections in September, as there are fears that the other parties will not be able to form a governing coalition.

The AfD leadership also wants to take advantage of the party’s growing popularity as Germany prepares for federal elections in autumn 2025.

mm, tj/kb (AFP, dpa)

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