Weekend Open Thread

Protesters chanting ‘no to Nazis’ block access to AfD party congress

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the East German town of Riesa on Saturday in a bid to blockade the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party congress.

Protesters chanting “no to Nazis” blocked roads in the town, preventing many of the party’s 600 delegates from reaching the convention venue and ultimately delaying the kick-off of the proceedings. Police estimate some 10,000 demonstrators will be in Riesa over the course of the weekend.

https://www.politico.eu/article/protesters-chanting-no-to-nazis-block-access-to-afd-party-congress/

In her acceptance speech, (Alice) Weidel said that AfD can make Germany "strong, rich and secure again". She also said that she wants to put the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline to Russia back into operation. "If we are at the helm, we will demolish all the wind turbines."

She also said that there should be a different migration policy, inspired by Dutch and Hungarian intentions to say goodbye to the European asylum policy. "The German borders are closed," says Weidel.

But the protest was the real news:

The AfD party congress started more than two hours later than planned due to protests around the location. The meeting was supposed to start at 10:00 am, but by then only a small part of the 600 participants were present in Riesa, about 130 kilometers south of Berlin.

Opponents of the AfD had set up blockades in the neighborhood. According to news agency DPA, party leader Weidel also failed to get in on time. Finally, the congress started around 11.45 am. According to the police, there were about 10,000 demonstrators, the organizers of the protests keep it at about 12,000 participants. The police were present with riot police and water cannons, and helicopter and drones.

According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung protestors unscrewed car tire valves of police cars and stuck stickers on official vehicles. The police intervened in several places. For example, officers used pepper spray to drive activists away from police cars and put an end to a blockade at an intersection.

 https://nos.nl/artikel/2551317-afd-kiest-weidel-als-kanselierskandidaat-congres-uren-later-begonnen-door-protesten