CDU ahead in Lower Saxony local election
Demonstrators plan to take to the streets in Dresden and Kiel on Sunday as part of a weekend of protests against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and populist ideologies.
The rallies have largely been prompted by the recent landslide win by the AfD in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the party has been classified as “confirmed right-wing extremist” by the state domestic intelligence agency.
In Dresden, the capital of the eastern state of Saxony, where support for the AfD is also strong, a demonstration is planned in the square in front of the city’s iconic Semperoper under the motto “Time for action.”
In Kiel, situated on the Baltic Sea, unions, environmental associations and other groups have called for a protest with the slogan “Not again is now!” in reference to the wish to avoid a repeat of Germany’s Nazi period.
Organizers say they want to show “solidarity with all those affected in Saxony-Anhalt” and send a clear signal of opposition to the AfD and its far-right ideology, which many see as anti-democratic.
On Saturday, there were particularly large demonstrations in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Berlin and Munich, with other smaller rallies taking place in Magdeburg — the capital of Saxony-Anhalt — Leipzig, Mainz and Saarbrücken, along with other places.
In Hamburg, some 25,000 people took part and in Düsseldorf around 20,000, according to police estimates.