The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has held its party convention in Riesa, Saxony, where violent protests by hard-left demonstrators broke out.
At the start of the event, over January 11-12, thousands of protesters tried to block AfD representatives from reaching the convention hall. In some cases AfD delegates could only get to the venue after a delay of some five hours.
The demonstrators included representatives of the youth organisations of the Greens, the Social Democrats and the ex-Communist Die Linke party.
Users on X to drew parallels with the 1920s Weimar Republic period in Germany. One German poster called the incident a “reverse 1925 touch”.
That was apparently alluding to the fact that in the 1920s it was primarily National Socialists supporters who resorted violence whereas now the Left had apparently adopted a similar approach.
Der Vorsitzende der Jugendorganisation einer aggressiven Kleinpartei brüstet sich, daß er aktiv den Parteitag des demokratisch gewählten größeren Mitbewerbers verhindert.
Dieser inverse 1925-Touch macht mich so langsam nervös. https://t.co/kQVdfe4Np9— TheRealTom™ – Trusted Flagger (@tomdabassman) January 11, 2025
Left-wing organisations including the Young Socialists (Jusos) had called for their comrades to take to the streets to “fight fascism” for days before the convention.
The protesters arrived in the city of Riesa early on the morning of the first day, blocked access roads and fought with police.
Passers-by were denounced as “fascist pigs”, according to media reports. The car containing AfD co-leader and chancellor candidate Alice Weidel was surrounded by protesters, AfD said.
The whole convention had to start two hours later than scheduled.
After the demonstration a number of protesters complained that they had been treated harshly by police.
Nam Duy Nguyen, a Die Linke State MP, claimed officers had beaten him despite identifying himself as a member of the Saxony State parliament.
On January 12, the organisers of the protest held a press conference in which they claimed that “thousands of people had their basic rights restricted” because they were held up for two hours by police in freezing temperatures and no toilets were provided.
“This is police violence, too,” one of the organisers alleged.
The complaints have drawn ridicule on social media.
Boris Reitschuster, an independent journalist, on X said it was “mad” that the people who had tried to keep AfD representatives from convening were complaining that their attempted breach of the law had been disrupted.
Was für ein Irrenhaus! Jene, die versucht haben, die AfD-Delegierten an der Ausübung ihrer demokratischen Rechte (und Pflichten) zu hindern, beklagen sich jetzt darüber, dass ihr versuchter Gesetzesbruch gestört wurde. Diese Menschen leben in ihrer eigenen, parallelen Realität. https://t.co/yPQcBE1ziY
— Boris Reitschuster (@reitschuster) January 12, 2025
At the convention, 600 party delegates officially nominated Weidel as the party’s candidate for chancellor.
According to recent polls, AfD can expect around 22 per cent of the vote in the February general elections.
Despite that, as all other parties in parliament have vowed not to co-operate with the party, it will likely remain isolated in the Bundestag.
