Thousands of protesters in Erfurt, East Germany, set up roadblocks on the streets leading to the conference center of the German far-right party AfD. Despite the large-scale protests, polls show the party gaining ground, and it may win in two states where local elections are scheduled to take place.

Approximately 15,000 protesters from labor unions, civil society organizations, and left-wing parties blocked highways and smaller roads leading to the convention center where the AfD convention is to be held. There was also a strong police presence, with reinforcements arriving in Erfurt from other parts of Germany.

“We want to make it clear that we simply will not tolerate this, that fascism is on the rise here in Germany,” said Georg Becker, a spokesperson for the anti-AfD organization Widersetzen (Resistance).

The convention, at which the two AfD co-chairs, Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, is taking place a few weeks before the elections in the eastern states of Saxony—Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania—where the far-right party is expected to prevail, according to polls. A victory there could pave the way for the AfD to achieve further successes at the national level.

The anti-immigration AfD has become the largest opposition party in Germany after recording, in last year’s parliamentary elections, the highest percentage ever achieved by a far-right party in the country since World War II World War II.

Since then, the AfD has increased its popularity by capitalizing on the unpopularity of the coalition government led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, which has failed to present a united front and offer solutions to Germany’s economic problems.

Its opponents accuse the AfD of promoting racist policies and views that are incompatible with Germany’s democratic values and claim that it threatens the country’s constitutional order. The major parties have ruled out any possibility of cooperation with the AfD, adopting a strategy of “protective wall,” designed to isolate the party and keep it out of coalition governments.

AfD leaders deny that they oppose Germany’s democratic foundations, and earlier this year they won a court order requiring the intelligence service not to label the party “extremist.”

Recent polls show support for the AfD at 29%, compared with about 22% for Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU). The party also saw a strong surge in two regional elections in western Germany earlier this year.

However, its highest support levels are recorded in the states of eastern Germany, where polls show the highest levels of voter disillusionment with the traditional party system.

In Saxony-Anhalt, where the latest poll gives the AfD 41% compared to just 23% for the CDU, the party is aiming for a clear victory. It also hopes to emerge as the largest party in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Source: Proto Thema