Demonstrations
Again protests against the right in several cities
A poster “Colorful instead of shitty brown” can be seen on a poster at a demonstration against right-wing extremism in Gütersloh. photo
© Friso Gentsch/dpa
Across Germany, thousands of people took to the streets again to demonstrate against right-wing extremism. But people are also gathering for protests in Austria.
Once again, thousands of people demonstrated against the right-wing in several German cities today. There were rallies in Frankfurt, Saarbrücken, Herne and Gütersloh. There are again numerous rallies against this weekend Right-wing extremism and planned for democracy.
According to the police, around 3,000 people took part in the “We are more” rally in Gütersloh that evening. 500 participants were registered. According to the police, around 3,000 people also took to the streets in Herne in the Ruhr area. Thousands of people also took part in Frankfurt city center. Posters there read “No state money for fascists” or “Remigrate to your knees.” According to police, the events remained peaceful.
According to the police, around 7,000 people in Saarbrücken took part in a protest against the right and against an AfD event. There was also a demonstration on the East Frisian island of Spiekeroog, where, according to the organizers, around 200 people gathered in front of the town hall – around 750 people live on the island.
More than 900,000 people demonstrated against the right
According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, more than 900,000 people took part in anti-right-wing demonstrations last weekend. It relied on police information.
The protests were triggered by revelations by the Correctiv research center about a meeting of radical right-wingers on November 25th, in which some AfD politicians as well as individual members of the CDU and the very conservative Values Union took part in Potsdam.
The former head of the right-wing extremist Identitarian Movement in Austria, Martin Sellner, said he spoke about “remigration” at the meeting. When right-wing extremists use the term, they usually mean that large numbers of people of foreign origin should leave the country – even under duress. According to Correctiv, Sellner named three target groups: asylum seekers, foreigners with the right to remain – and “non-assimilated citizens”.
Demonstrations against the right also in Austria
In Austria, thousands of people took part in demonstrations against the right. According to observers, around 35,000 people gathered in front of the parliament building in Vienna this evening. Under the motto “Defend democracy!” The participants wanted to take a stand against right-wing extremism, racism and anti-Semitism. With their cell phones, they created a sea of lights around the National Council building.
People also took to the streets in Innsbruck and Salzburg, following the example of the mass protests against right-wing extremism in Germany. The demonstrations were supported by many civil society and political organizations.
FPÖ in first place in surveys
At the demonstrations, participants warned that the right-wing FPÖ could come into government after the parliamentary elections. The right-wing populists have been in first place in surveys since the end of 2022, well ahead of the also opposition Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the conservative Chancellor’s Party ÖVP. The FPÖ currently has almost 30 percent of voters behind it.
The connections between the FPÖ and the extreme right-wing identitarians have recently been in the public eye. FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl described the Identitarians in 2021 as an “NGO from the right” with which there is overlap in terms of content. Martin Sellner, the former head of the Identitarian Movement in Austria, spoke about “remigration” at the recently announced meeting of right-wing extremists in Potsdam. By this, right-wing extremists mean that many people of foreign origin should be expelled.
Two weeks ago, FPÖ General Secretary Christian Hafenecker defended the AfD representatives who took part in the Potsdam meeting as “patriotic politicians.”