New anti-far-right protest draws 250,000 in Munich

New anti-far-right protest draws 250,000 in Munich

Protesters in Munich rally under the slogan 'Democracy needs you', two weeks out from Germany's elections

Fresh protests against the extreme right drew massive crowds in Germany on Saturday, including 250,000 people in Munich, authorities said, as the country heads for clutch elections.

The latest rallies came after an estimated 160,000 people marched in Berlin last weekend to protest recent overtures by Germany's conservatives to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of parliamentary elections on February 23.

Organisers of the largest protest, dubbed ""Munich is multicolour", put the turnout at more than 320,000 people.

With legislative elections two weeks away, demonstrators rallied under the slogan "democracy needs you", warning against any party working together with the AfD.

Germany has long had an unwritten rule against working with the far right, dating back to the aftermath of the horrors wrought by the Nazis in World War II.

But protesters say the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the frontrunner in the polls, breached that so-called "firewall" by seeking the AfD's support in parliament for an anti-immigration bill.

Organisers said the Munich protest aimed to send a "strong signal in favour of diversity, human dignity, cohesion and democracy".

Protesters swarmed Munich's famed Theresienwiese, a sprawling esplanade in the city centre which plays host to the Oktoberfest beer festival each autumn. They carried placards attacking CDU leader Friedrich Merz, bearing messages such as "Shame on you!"

"I want democrats to take back control," said 64-year-old protester Joachim Hageboeck.

"It's bad enough that Austria, America and other countries have so many fascists in charge. We have to oppose them."

"Even potatoes are foreign," said Sascha Mehlins, 29, who was sporting a placard with the same message.

Another protest in the northern city of Hanover drew 24,000 people, according to police.

The CDU has ruled out forming a government with the AfD, which is polling in second place ahead of the elections.

- 'Betraying' Germany -

"We would be betraying our country," Merz on Saturday told a rally in Nuremberg of the CSU, the CDU's Bavarian sister party.

"Anyone who really wants change in Germany must not vote for the AfD."

Merz's toughened-up immigration stance came after police arrested an Afghan man following a deadly knife attack a week ago against a group of kindergarten children.

It was the latest in a series of deadly attacks that have soured moods in Germany over the arrival of millions of war refugees and other asylum seekers in recent years.

Merz, whose party is polling around 30 percent, is banking on going "all in" on immigration to peel away voters tempted by the AfD's strident anti-migrant policies.

Critics argue this gamble will only pander to the extremes in German politics, in a country still seeking to atone for the Nazi regime and the Holocaust.

The AfD is polling behind the CDU in second place with between 20 and 22 percent of the vote.

Meanwhile the Greens and Social Democrats of incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz -- who have both sharply criticised Merz's AfD overtures -- are trailing on around 15 percent.

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Originally published as New anti-far-right protest draws 250,000 in Munich