Oct 1, 2021 • The far-right Alternative for Germany party remains strong in the east, but has suffered small losses nationwide — and will not be involved in any coalition talks, as it remains a pariah for all other parties.
Germany's eastern state of Saxony bucked the nationwide downward trend: The Alternative for Germany (AfD) emerged as the strongest party there in Sunday's general election, clearly ahead of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). In neighboring Thuringia, the AfD also narrowly beat the Social Democrats to become the largest single party.
Why is the AfD so strong in the east? We went to the city of Görlitz to find out.
The city of Chemnitz in the eastern German state of Saxony made headlines around the world for right-wing violence and anti-immigrant sentiment. But at a concert, tens of thousands took a stand against xenophobia and extremism. Can the movement 'There are more of us' last? Guests: Linda Vierecke (DW), Valerie Höhne (Spiegel Online), Matthew Karnitschnig (Politico)
The city of Chemnitz, in the east German state of Saxony, has seen a series of violent anti-migrant protests. They began last Sunday after the fatal stabbing of a 35-year-old German man…and the arrest of two suspects...asylum seekers from Iraq and Syria.
Briefly, the streets were owned by far-right protesters, who chanted Germany for Germans, and who reportedly gave Hitler salutes and chased anyone who looked foreign. Police struggled to keep control them and fights continued the following day between far-right and left-wing demonstrators.
The violence has raised concerns that the city is a neo-Nazi stronghold, and has shown divisions in German society about immigration.
Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed more than a million migrants into the country at the height of the refugee crisis in 2015. The biggest opposition party, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) seized on what it saw as an open-door policy, winning 92 parliamentary seats in last year’s elections.
Is anti-migrant sentiment growing in Germany?
Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra | Guests: Philipp Sauter, Student Activist and anti-Fascism campaigner; Cynthia Miller-Idriss, Professor of Education Sociology at the American University; Mona El Omari, political activist and community educator
The right-wing AfD party made big gains in Germany’s federal election with racist and anti-Islamic slogans. In the state of Saxony, it even emerged as the strongest party. DW reporter Maissun Melhem travels to Dresden to explore why.
