A convention of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party was met by protests as it launched its campaign in Germany’s elections.
AfD is holding a two-day gathering in Riesa – in the eastern state of Saxony, one of the party’s strongholds – to formally nominate its co-leader Alice Weidel as candidate for chancellor and to finalise details of its platform.
A heavy police presence was in place as thousands of demonstrators were expected. Officers partly broke up a sit-in blockade at a crossroads, and fireworks were thrown toward police on the sidelines of another protest, the German news agency dpa reported.
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Polls show AfD in second place, with about 20% support, in the run-up to the 23 February elections. However, Weidel, who this week held a live chat on X with the tech billionaire Elon Musk, has no realistic chance of becoming Germany’s leader as other parties refuse to work with AfD.
The conservative opposition Union bloc leads polls on about 30%, and its candidate, Friedrich Merz, is the favourite to become the next chancellor.
The incumbent centre-left chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is hoping for victory, but there has been little sign of significant movement in the polls, which show support for his Social Democrats at between 14% and 17%.
Scholz leads a minority government after his unpopular and rancorous three-party coalition collapsed in November when he fired his finance minister in a dispute over how to revitalise Germany’s stagnant economy. The elections are being held seven months earlier than originally scheduled.
