Pro-democracy rallies surge in Germany as far-right AfD threatens democratic values in state elections
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Thousands mobilized in Berlin and across Germany to resist the dangerous rise of the Alternative für Deutschland, which captured nearly 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt. As the AfD eyes further gains in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, citizens rally to defend democracy and social justice.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate on Sunday, standing united against the alarming advance of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) ahead of crucial state elections in the capital and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. While police reported around 5,000 participants, organizers highlighted the overwhelming response, estimating over 14,000 people determined to reject the AfD’s xenophobic and regressive agenda. Protesters brandished signs denouncing the party’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and its reckless demands to slash renewable-energy subsidies and undermine public broadcasting, both essential pillars for a just and informed society.
The AfD’s shocking 44% share in the Saxony-Anhalt election marks its most dangerous incursion into German democracy yet. Though the party failed to secure an outright majority, it remains perilously close to seizing governmental power, as candidate Ulrich Siegmund boasted. The state chapter’s classification as a right-wing extremist group by domestic intelligence underscores the grave threat the AfD poses to pluralism and human rights.
Jens-Christian Wagner, director of the Buchenwald memorial, delivered a powerful speech at the rally, condemning the Saxony-Anhalt results as “a disgrace that makes you furious and stunned,” and urging the public not to remain silent in the face of rising fascism.
The resistance spread to cities nationwide, including Potsdam, Münster, Göttingen, Dresden, Aachen, Bamberg, Darmstadt, and Halberstadt. In Halle, activists have maintained a protest camp since election day, demonstrating unwavering commitment to defending democracy.
Polling ahead of the September 20 votes shows the AfD leading in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with about 35% support, a chilling sign of the normalization of far-right politics. Meanwhile, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of state premier Manuela Schwesig is fighting back, rising above 30%. In Berlin, the CDU-SPD coalition barely holds a lead, with the CDU at roughly 20% and progressive forces like the Linke, SPD, and Greens in the mid-teens, highlighting the urgent need for unity against the far right.
Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz has promised to remain in office and pursue a reform agenda, claiming that economic revitalization is key to halting the AfD’s advance. The SPD, as the junior coalition partner, has indicated a willingness to adjust unpopular measures to preserve the government’s stability and protect Germany from the reactionary threat posed by the AfD.