The Vice President of the EU Parliament Barley is reminded of the National Socialist era at the meeting of radical right-wingers in Potsdam. The protests by hundreds of thousands against it make them proud.
The Vice President of the European Parliament and SPD top candidate Katarina Barley has urgently warned against the rise of right-wing extremist forces and the AfD. With a view to the National Socialists’ seizure of power before the Second World War and the meeting of radical right-wingers in Potsdam, which was made public by the Correctiv research center, she said at the New Year’s reception of the SPD parliamentary group in Hamburg: “That’s exactly how it started, that there is a small group of people who consider themselves to be something better and who then want to define for themselves who is German and who is not.”
Some AfD politicians as well as individual members of the CDU and the very conservative Values Union also took part in the meeting on November 25th. The Austrian right-wing extremist Martin Sellner said he spoke about “remigration” there. 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.
Barley emphasized to around 1,100 guests in the town hall that she was all the more proud that hundreds of thousands of people in Germany took to the streets. “The AfD has been exposed,” said the SPD politician. Since the meeting in Potsdam, people have been aware of what the party really thinks.
The European Union is not perfect, but it ensures peace, cohesion and ensures that “people treat each other with respect”. However, it is currently also at risk, “because we have guys like the AfD in other countries too,” said Barley, referring to the EU Parliament and government participation. Germany is a strong country with an important voice. “This year I hope that we are all Europeans with all our hearts, no matter at what level we play politics.”