ARallies against the Alternative for Germany (AfD) are also scheduled to take place in the Rhine-Main area in the next few days. On Saturday, an alliance called “Defend Democracy – Frankfurt against the AfD and the shift to the right!” wants to demonstrate against the party on Frankfurt's Römerberg from 1 p.m. More than 60 initiatives, associations and clubs are supporting the protest, including many left-wing groups, the Römerberg Alliance, the Council of Religions and the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB). Another rally begins on Saturday in Giessen at 3 p.m. There will be a demonstration in Offenbach on Sunday from 11 a.m., and an anti-AfD protest is planned for January 25th in Wiesbaden.
Since the publication of an article by the research platform Correctiv, there have been rallies against the AfD across the country. Around 30,000 people demonstrated in Cologne this week, 25,000 participants were counted in Berlin and 15,000 in Leipzig. The organizers of the Frankfurt rally hope that several thousand participants will follow the call.
Mayor Mike Josef speaks at the Römer
On the stage on the Römerberg, Frankfurt's mayor Mike Josef (SPD), the Protestant city dean Holger Kamlah, the Frankfurt DGB boss Philipp Jacks and the journalist Hadija Haruna-Oelker will give speeches, among others. Because the demonstration will not go through the city, major disruptions to traffic are not expected.
The investigative journalists from Correctiv reported on a meeting between AfD members and right-wing extremists. During this round, Martin Sellner, leading head of the Identitarian Movement, is said to have presented a plan for the mass expulsion of entire population groups from Germany.
Like the new right-wing journalist Götz Kubitschek, Sellner is not a member of the AfD, but is said to have a strong influence on parts of the party. There were also connections between Identitarians, Kubitschek's Institute for State Policy, which is classified as right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, and the Hessian AfD. For example, Andreas Lichert, today's co-state leader of the Hessian AfD, was active on the board of the sponsoring association of the Institute for State Policy.
#Demos #AfD #Frankfurt #Offenbach #Wiesbaden
