Thousands of protesters block access to AfD’s new youth wing launch in Giessen, forcing delay as party seeks to replace banned extremist group
GIESSEN: A planned launch of the far-right Alternative for Germany’s new youth wing was delayed Saturday as thousands of protesters blocked access to the event venue.
Anti-AfD demonstrators began gathering in Giessen from early morning, with police deploying in large numbers.
Protest organisation “Resist” claimed it blocked several routes to the AfD meeting and mobilised 15,000 people.
The AfD’s meeting was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. local time but had not begun by 11:30 a.m. due to the protests, party spokesman Michael Pfalzgraf told AFP.
When proceedings eventually start, attendees will select the new youth wing’s leadership, statutes, name and logo.
The anti-immigration AfD became Germany’s main opposition after February’s general election, achieving a record score exceeding 20%.
The party hopes to build on this success in next year’s state elections in its eastern heartlands.
This new youth organisation replaces the Junge Alternative, which intelligence services classified as extremist before the AfD disbanded it earlier this year.
The JA frequently courted controversy through racist chants and meetings with neo-Nazis.
The new youth wing is expected to be called “Generation Deutschland” or “Youth Germania” with members deciding on a logo featuring an eagle, cross and Germany’s national colours.
Likely first leader Jean-Pascal Hohm, a 28-year-old AfD state lawmaker, maintains longstanding ties to far-right and ethno-nationalist groups.
Inside the venue, stalls offered delegates merchandise including protein powder and T-shirts featuring AfD leaders.
Local AfD activist Kevin Potthast attended because “the country is in a bad way and something has to change”.
“It’s important to get young people involved, as they are the future,” said the 34-year-old electrician.
Counter-protester Irina Gildt, 28, told AFP she demonstrated for diversity and against intimidation “by fear or by hatred”.
“That’s worth getting up early for,” she said.
Germany’s domestic security service declared the AfD a “right-wing extremist” organisation in May, sparking ban discussions.
The party is challenging this designation in court.
Political experts anticipate the new youth wing will be at least as radical as its predecessor.
University of Duesseldorf’s Fabian Virchow noted that “the leading figures come from a far-right milieu, in which former activists from the Identitarian Movement, fraternities, neo-Nazism and ethno-nationalist groups come together”.
Unlike the independently-operating JA, the new organisation will integrate more closely into the AfD’s disciplinary structures.
Heinrich Heine University’s Stefan Marschall said this arrangement “gives the party leadership control over this branch of the organisation and thus helps it to present a more unified front”.
“However, this comes at the cost of the party no longer being able to completely credibly distance itself from the youth organisation should it adopt problematic positions.”
The youth wing intends to assert independence immediately.
One motion for voting states “the new youth organisation should neither blindly follow the parent party nor serve as a lapdog for the federal or state executive committees of the parent party”. – AFP
