Germans took to the streets to condemn the far-right

Astrong message against intolerance and the far right was sent by thousands of German citizens, who poured into the streets of Berlin to denounce the recent parliamentary alliance of the CDU with the AfD to introduce anti-immigration measures, as well as to condemn the scenarios circulating about post-election cooperation between the Christian Democratic Party and the far-right AfD.
According to police authorities, the streets of Berlin were "flooded" by about 160,000 citizens (250,000 according to organizers) shouting slogans such as "Fritz, listen to the little mother" (meaning Angela Merkel, who was known by the nickname "little mother" while she was chancellor), "It's 1933 instead of 5" and "Let's keep the firewall". The demonstrators gathered outside the parliament building and reached the CDU headquarters in Berlin.
"Shame on you CDU" and "Merz ohne Herz" were the words on hundreds of placards held by protesters, referring to the decision taken twice this week by Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) to rely on votes from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to try to pass anti-immigration measures.
It is recalled that in three weeks from now (on Sunday 23/2) , the German elections will be held , with opinion polls showing the CDU as the first party with around 30% and the AfD in second place with close to 21%.
It is worth noting that a recent poll "showed" that the CDU's far-right turn, putting immigration high on its agenda, is being disapproved of by German voters , as Merz's party appears to be losing votes for this reason.
This de facto alliance broke a political "norm" in the country, where since World War II traditional parties had refused any cooperation at the national level with the far right.
In neighboring Potsdam, about 2,500 people gathered today, also asking the democratic parties to keep their distance from the far right.
Yesterday (1/2), similar rallies were held in several cities in Germany. The largest of these, in Hamburg, was attended by at least 65,000 people.
Tomorrow, the CDU is holding its programmatic conference, which is expected to ratify the party's election program. According to information so far, the program is divided into two sections, "Competitiveness and Prosperity" and "Security for the People in Germany" and includes all the measures that were also included in the bill that the Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) submitted to the Bundestag last week, without ultimately securing the required majority, despite the fact that it was also voted for by the AfD, which has caused a chain of reactions.
efsyn.gr