Hundreds of thousands protest against far right in Germany

Rallies to protest against the Alternative for Germany party are held in Berlin, Munich and other cities. While national polls show AfD in second place behind the main centre-right opposition bloc and ahead of the parties in the government, demonstrations against the far-right party gained momentum after a January 10 report from investigative news website Correctiv revealed that migration policies including mass deportations of people of foreign origin were discussed at a meeting of German right-wing hardliners in Potsdam. Katrin Delrieux, 53, told the AFP news agency in Munich that she hoped the protests against the far right would “make a lot of people rethink” their positions. Politicians, businesses take a stand Business leaders have also voiced their concerns, with Siemens Energy supervisory board chairman Joe Kaeser telling Reuters the reports revealed by Correctiv trigger “bitter memories”. In a video message on Sunday, Steinmeier said: “You are standing up against misanthropy and right-wing extremism; these people encourage us all.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who joined a demonstration last weekend, highlighted that any plan to expel immigrants or citizens alike amounted to “an attack against our democracy, and in turn, on all of us”.