Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Germany on Thursday to protest the conservative Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) parties. The demonstrations came one day after Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz worked with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to push draft anti-immigration legislation through the lower house of parliament.
The opposition, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, criticized Merz’s deal as a breach of the post-war German taboo against cooperation with extremist parties. The alliance “Together Against the Right” called for Thursday’s protest under the motto, “No Cooperation With the AfD.”
Protest co-organizer Carolin Moser accused Merz and the CDU/CSU of making the “AfD’s right-wing extremism socially acceptable.” In Dresden, thousands of demonstrators gathered to voice their anger, chanting slogans such as “Shame On You!” and “Friedrich Merz is a security risk for our democracy.”
Merz has been accused of playing politics with Germany’s democracy by pushing harsher immigration laws ahead of the election. However, he insisted that it was not his fault that he relied on an extreme party to pass the legislation.
The Bundestag will debate and vote on the draft migration legislation bill on Friday. The opposition hopes to block the bill, which would be legally binding if approved by the upper house of parliament.
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-mass-protests-after-far-right-afd-helps-cdu-csu/a-71464257