Germany: Will the far right beat the ‘firewall’?

The far-right AfD threatens to breach the political “firewall” that has long kept it out of power, as election disinformation from both the US and Russia disrupts the German media’s election coverage.

Elon Musks joins AfD campaign launch

 US billionaire and adviser to President Donald Trump, Elon Musk again backed the AfD, as he appeared via videolink at the campaign launch ahead of the address of the party's lead candidate, Alice Weidel.

"I'm very excited for the AfD. I think you are really the best hope for Germany," Musk — who has been accused of meddling in European politics — said and added that it was OK to "take pride" in being German.

"I think there is frankly too much of a focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that. Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents or even their great-grandparents," he said.

Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), has classified the AfD as a "suspected" far-right extremist organization. 

Elon Musk continues to provide support to political party's with racist, white nationalist and authoritarian ideologies. He supports dictatorial rule. He supports the British Reform party and the party led by Frances Marine Le Pen. 

   

Can far-right Alternative for Germany govern after first state election win?

The far-right Alternative for Germany party has won its first ever state election in the eastern state of Thuringia. It's the biggest electoral victory for the German far-right since the Second World War. Exit polls put the far-right AfD far ahead of its rivals in Thuringia and on course for major gains in Saxony. The votes in the two German states are seen as barometers for the federal elections next year. All other mainstream political parties in Germany have previously maintained that they wouldn't form a government with the AfD, but Thuringia AfD leader Bjorn Höcke has said that with his party in first place, it should be up to him to try and form a coalition.

Far-right AfD on track for its first win in eastern German state vote

Far-right AfD party in Germany sees drop in polling

Support for Germany's far-right AfD party has been growing in recent months. But a new poll shows a slight weakening of its support. It comes after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across Germany to demonstrate against the far-right. The protests began after reports that members of the far-right AfD met with neo-nazis to discus plans to deport millions of people with immigrant backgrounds, including German citizens.

Huge demonstrations across Germany against the far right

Organizers say more than 1.4 million people have taken part in demostrations against the far right across Germany over the weekend. In Munich, the rally had to be cut short because of overcrowding. The protests were announced at more than 100 locations nationwide. In Berlin, thousands of people demonstrated outside the parliament. The outrage follows reports that members of the Alternative for Germany party had a meeting with far-right extremists to discuss plans for mass deportation of migrants and citizens with foreign roots.

Opponents of far-right AfD protest at party convention in Germany

 

In Germany, opponents of the far-right AfD party have taken to the streets in the eastern city of Magdeburg. The populist party is holding its annual congress there. The AfD, or "Alternative for Germany," is currently seeing a surge in its approval ratings. A recent poll put public support at 22 percent, second only to the main conservative opposition bloc. The party's popularity is particularly high in eastern Germany. Among the demonstrators was a group calling themselves Grannies against the Right.