Erfurt became the latest flashpoint in Germany’s political battle lines on Saturday as thousands of demonstrators turned out against the far-right AfD, sitting down in rows to block the roads and highways leading to the party’s annual conference.
Protesters from unions, civil society groups and left-wing parties converged on the eastern city while police—many in riot gear and backed by reinforcements from across Germany—took up positions ahead of the AfD’s two-day gathering.
AfD stands for Alternative for Germany.
Under close police watch, demonstrators mounted blockades on routes to the convention centre hosting the meeting. Police estimated roughly 15,000 people joined protests in and around Erfurt.
Inside, the AfD opened proceedings by re-electing its co-leaders, Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, the duo credited with steering the party’s rise into a national force now topping opinion polls ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative bloc.
Protesters from unions, civil society groups and left-wing parties gathered
From the stage, opening speeches mocked and denounced the crowds outside as anti-democratic, while celebrating momentum that could deliver the AfD its first taste of regional power in elections later this year. Speakers cast mainstream rivals as tired and disconnected, arguing they are pushing Germany into decline.
“For this remains our last chance to save our country,” Ms Weidel said. “More and more people in this country want to support us in the fight against Germany’s decline, in the fight for our fatherland and for our identity.”
The party’s hard line on immigration was on display even before the conference began. Minutes ahead of the opening, a song titled “Send them back” played on the AfD’s social media stream. In the convention centre, vintage-style cards were available for purchase featuring slogans including “YOU will be deported”.
Björn Höcke, widely viewed as among the AfD’s most radical and controversial figures, mixed nostalgia with sharp criticism—at one point citing the condition of Germany’s motorway toilets as a symbol of broader national malaise.
“A great Germany is a Germany where one need not fear taking a walk through the city park in the evening. A great Germany is a country where apartment keys can be left hanging on the outside of the door,” he said.
Police vehicles stationed close to where the conference is taking place
Leading in the polls
The conference is taking place ahead of September elections in the eastern states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, contests the AfD hopes will help build a pathway to success at the national level.
“We will govern. First at a regional level, then at national level,” Mr Chrupalla told delegates, using his address to emphasise party unity.
Ms Weidel, a former Goldman Sachs analyst from western Germany, and Mr Chrupalla, a trained painter and varnisher from the eastern state of Saxony, were both re-elected without opposition. Even so, Mr Chrupalla’s 70% share marked a drop from the 81% he won two years ago.
Mr Chrupalla, who has argued for halting military aid to Ukraine, has also called for resetting relations between Berlin and Moscow—ties that have become openly hostile as a result of the war in Ukraine.
The AfD launched the event by re-electing party chiefs Alice Weidel (R) and Tino Chrupalla (L)
Founded more than a decade ago, the AfD has blended nationalist rhetoric, demands for tougher immigration measures and appeals to voters frustrated by successive governments and years of economic stagnation.
“Criminals and illegal migrants have no place in Germany anymore,” Ms Weidel said. “We will deport them rigorously, because our country deserves better.”
Opponents argue the AfD promotes racist policies and attitudes they say clash with Germany’s democratic values, warning that the party would endanger the country’s constitutional order.
Germany’s mainstream parties have refused any cooperation with the AfD under a so-called “firewall” strategy intended to isolate it and keep it out of coalition governments.
AfD leaders reject accusations that they oppose Germany’s democratic foundations. Earlier this year, the party won a court injunction ordering the domestic intelligence service to suspend a previous classification of the AfD as “extremist”.
Recent polls place the AfD as high as 29%, compared with about 22% for Mr Merz’s CDU/CSU conservatives.
The party draws its strongest support from the former communist east, where surveys indicate the highest levels of voter disillusionment with the traditional party system.
