Protests erupt as German far right starts convention

RIESA, Germany — Thousands of people demonstrated against a convention of the far-right Alternative for Germany on Saturday, blocking some roads and delaying the meeting's start as parties launched their campaigns for the country's election next month.

A heavy police presence was in place in Riesa — in Saxony state, a stronghold of Alternative for Germany, or AfD — and officers cleared some protesters from the streets. However, the two-day convention started a little over two hours late as many delegates' trips to the venue were slowed by blockades.

AfD formally nominated co-leader Alice Weidel as its candidate for chancellor by acclamation. Weidel, who was among those held up, thanked delegates for "defying the left-wing mob and getting here".

Polls show AfD in second place ahead of the Feb 23 election, with about 20 percent support. However, Weidel has no realistic chance of becoming Germany's leader as other parties refuse to work with AfD.

The mainstream conservative opposition Union bloc leads polls with about 30 percent and its candidate, Friedrich Merz, is the favorite to become the next chancellor.

The Union is focusing on boosting Germany's stagnant economy in particular and on reducing irregular migration. Weidel assailed it as a "party of fraudsters" on Saturday, urging people to "vote for the original" and strengthen her party.

She called for closing Germany's borders to undocumented migration and large-scale deportations of asylum-seekers, making clear she has no problem with the politically charged term "remigration".

She pledged to return to service the Nord Stream gas pipeline that was damaged in 2022 explosions and won loud applause for saying that AfD would tear down all wind turbines — which she described as "windmills of shame" — if it came to power.

At a news conference in Hamburg, Merz concentrated on his own party's offer of "fundamental change" after the coalition of center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz collapsed.

He said he aims to lead "a government that stops arguing; a government that draws up reliable laws that also endure in the longer term", producing a reliable environment for domestic and foreign investors. "Then we will have higher potential growth, and then we will have higher actual growth again."

Scholz is hoping for a come-from-behind victory, but there has been little sign of significant movement so far in polls that show support for his Social Democrats at 14 to 17 percent. His coalition government collapsed in November when he fired his finance minister in a dispute over how to revitalize the economy, leading to an early election.

Agencies via Xinhua