German mainstream scrambles to thwart rising popularity of the far right
The Alternative for Germany (AfD), which the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has partially classified as right-wing extremist, is enjoying record highs in opinion polls.
At the same time, hundreds of thousands of people have been taking to the streets to demonstrate against the anti-immigration party.
The German Bundestag is also debating how to deal with the AfD, with the three governing parliamentary factions — the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP)— submitting a motion on the issue. The topic: “Resilient democracy in a diverse country — a clear stand against the enemies of democracy and their plans of forced displacement.”
The move was prompted by a media report about a meeting last fall of right-wing extremists, attended by AfD officials as well as members of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The gathering is said to have been about plans for the so-called remigration, or expulsion, of millions of people who have immigrated to Germany.
In the parliamentary debate, Bernd Baumann, the AfD’s parliamentary secretary and chief whip in the German parliament, told lawmakers the meeting was no more than a “small, private debate club,” but not a “secret meeting dangerous to the public.”
But Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) called it “an active effort to shift borders and to spread contempt for democracy and misanthropy into the heart of society.”
Faeser said she could also imagine banning the party — but only as a last resort.
Credit to : DW News