ESSEN: Clashes between hooded demonstrators and police on Saturday marked the commencement of a party congress of Germany’s far-right AfD, weeks after it scored record EU election results despite multiple scandals.
Approximately 1,000 police officers were deployed in the western city of Essen, where around 600 delegates convened for a two-day meeting. Authorities anticipated significant turnout with up to 80,000 demonstrators expected to join protests surrounding the event.
“Several disruptive violent actions occurred in the Ruettenscheld quarter. Demonstrators, some of them hooded, attacked security forces. Several arrests were made,” reported the police of North Westphalia, where Essen is located.
Amidst concerns of potential violence, a top regional official had warned of the presence of “potentially violent far-left troublemakers” among the protesters.
Addressing the congress, AfD co-president Alice Weidel asserted the party’s right to convene peacefully, amidst sustained applause from attendees. “We have the right like all political parties — to hold a congress,” she emphasized.
The congress unfolds against the backdrop of heightened security due to the Euro 2024 football tournament, with Germany playing Denmark in a match nearby in Dortmund on the same day.
In early June, AfD achieved its best-ever result in the European Union elections, securing 16 percent of the vote and positioning itself as the second-largest party behind the main conservative CDU-CSU bloc. This success, however, has been overshadowed by internal scandals, particularly involving their top EU election candidate Maximilian Krah.
“We believe that the party has learned a lot in recent months and will exercise caution in selecting future leading candidates,” Weidel commented in an interview with Politico.
Krah faced allegations of improper links to Russia and China, and drew widespread condemnation for remarks minimizing the culpability of certain members of the Nazi SS.
Subsequently, AfD was expelled from its far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the European Parliament, alienating potential allies such as France’s National Rally and Italy’s League.
At the ongoing congress, delegates are set to vote on a motion proposing to eliminate the dual presidency structure in favor of a single president alongside a general secretary. This motion, if passed, could potentially impact Tino Chrupalla, currently serving as co-president alongside Weidel, given his previous criticism of Krah.
Chrupalla and Weidel advocate for the introduction of a secretary general position to professionalize AfD operations ahead of Germany’s 2025 parliamentary elections.
