giessen, germany
AP
—
The confident far-right Alternative for Germany party established a new youth wing on Saturday as thousands of demonstrators gathered in the western city of Giessen, where the party was holding a meeting, and some clashed with police.
The convention of the anti-immigration party, known by its German acronym “AfD,” began more than two hours late as groups of demonstrators blocked or attempted to block roads in and around the city of about 93,000 people, causing many participants to arrive late.
Police said they used pepper spray after rocks were thrown at officers at one location. In another incident, police said they used water cannon to break a blockade after about 2,000 demonstrators ignored calls to leave. They did it again Saturday afternoon when the group tried to break through barriers toward the city’s convention center.
Police said up to 5,000 officers were called to the scene, and 10 to 15 people suffered minor injuries. Many people demonstrated peacefully. Police estimated the total number of protesters as of early afternoon to be in the “low five digits.”
At the opening of the meeting, AfD leaders condemned the protests. “What is going on there, dear leftists, dear extremists, you need to look at yourself, is deeply undemocratic,” said party co-leader Alice Weidell. She said one of the AfD MPs was attacked. Police said one lawmaker was injured near Giessen, but did not provide further details.
The new youth organization’s predecessor, Young Alternative, a largely autonomous group with relatively loose ties to the party, was disbanded at the end of March after the AfD decided to officially sever ties with the party.
The AfD wants to more closely oversee the new group, named Generation Germany and open to all party members under the age of 36, whose terms were approved on Saturday.
The AfD came in second place in Germany’s national elections in February with over 20% of the vote, and is now the country’s largest opposition party. The party, which mainstream parties refuse to align with, continues to rise in opinion polls as Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition government fails to impress voters.
German domestic intelligence had concluded that Young Alternative was a proven right-wing extremist group. It later classified itself as such, but put the designation on hold after the AfD launched a legal challenge.
In a ruling last year rejecting an injunction against Young Alternative’s designation, a Cologne court asserted that the group’s central political philosophy was to preserve ethnically defined German nationality and exclude “ethnically foreigners” where possible.
It also cited incitement against migrants and asylum seekers and links to extremist groups such as the Identity Movement. In June of this year, a higher court ended the appeal process, noting that Young Alternative had been dissolved.
AfD’s other co-leader, Tino Churupala, said the party must learn from past mistakes.
“While some have benefited from the mobilization capacity of young people, others have not taken into account the well-being and future of these young people,” he said. “We should have valued young hopes within the party more. The future will be different.”
He added that young activists must “work hard for the party.”
German political parties have youth wings and are typically more politically radical than their parent parties. It remains to be seen whether the new AfD youth organization will be more moderate than its predecessor, but there is hope for at least some continuity.
Kevin Dorow, a delegate from the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, said he was previously active in the local branch of Young Alternative.
“The new formation means, above all, continuing what the Young Alternatives started: being a training ground, attracting young people and, above all, bringing them into politics for the benefit of the party,” he said, adding that they may one day run for public office. He said he saw no “drift in a radical direction” in Young Alternative.
The AfD portrays itself as an anti-establishment force amid low trust in politicians. The party first entered parliament in 2017 on the back of dissatisfaction with the mass influx of migrants in the mid-2010s, and curbing immigration remains its signature theme. But in recent years, he has also shown a knack for exploiting dissatisfaction with other issues. That was reflected in the confident tone of the AfD leader on Saturday.
Five of Germany’s 16 states will hold local elections next year. Two of them are in the former communist east, where the party is strongest.
“We will get the majority of the mandate and we will have our first governor,” Weidel said.
