Confrontations between German demonstrators and police near the AfD party conference in Essen

The protests against the AfD are not unique. Large-scale demonstrations have taken place several times in recent months, sometimes bringing hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets.

The demonstrators oppose the growing popularity of the far-right party. It performed particularly well in the last European elections. The Alternative for Germany party came in second place with 16% of the votes. The Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union came in first place with 30%.

However popular it may be, the AfD is not without its critics. Earlier this year, the news website Correctiv reported on a meeting between AfD politicians and neo-Nazis in Potsdam in November. During the meeting, “re-migration” and the subsequent deportation of migrants and minorities was discussed.

In addition, it emerged around April that European party leader Maximilian Krah was under investigation for “possible bribery from Russia and China.”

After several statements by Krahe, including that not all SS members were war criminals, the far-right Identity and Democracy faction in the European Parliament also decided to expel the AfD from the group. MEP Gerolf Annemans (Flaiss Belang) responded at the time, saying: “The umpteenth incident with Maximilian Krah was also too much for Fleiss Belang.” Annemans is the leader of the ID faction.