At least 160,000 rally in Berlin against far right

At least 160,000 rally in Berlin against far right

The protests come as Germany heads for a fraught election on February 23

Demonstrators descended on Berlin Sunday to protest last week's decision by Germany's conservatives to make overtures to the far right ahead of this month's legislative election, drawing at least 160,000 people, according to police.

Organisers said 200,000 people had turned out to denounce the breach by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Germany's unwritten agreement not to work with the far right at the national level, in place since World War II.

After the rally started just outside the Bundestag, Germany's parliament building, some protesters chanted slogans including "Shame on you CDU" before moving on towards the party's headquarters.

Others accused the CDU, currently the main opposition party, and its leader, Friedrich Merz, of having made a "pact with the devil" by seeking the backing of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to pass an anti-immigration bill.

"(We want to) make as much noise as possible to call for the self-described 'democratic' parties to protect this democracy," protester Anna Schwarz, 34, told AFP.

She was joining a political rally for the first time as "we can no longer avert our gaze, it's too serious", she added.

The CDU's canvassing for the far-right AfD's support in parliament last week sparked widespread fury in Germany, less than a month ahead of a snap federal election.

In doing so Merz, frontrunner ahead of the February 23 vote, broke the decades-old "firewall" set up in the aftermath of the horrors wrought by Nazi Germany.

- 'Terrifying' -

The two parties passed a non-binding resolution on Wednesday in a bid to block undocumented foreigners at the border, including asylum seekers.

They failed on Friday to pass a contentious bill to further restrict immigration, but the taboo on working together had been broken.

"Friday I was very nervous, I spend the day watching the debates in the Bundestag with friends," said protester Oez, 33, who did not give her full name.

"To see, live, the CDU speaking then the AfD clapping and vice versa, it's terrifying." 

But she said she was reassured by the rally's turnout. "Today, we need to show that there are more of us defending democracy than there are of them."

Already on Saturday, more than 220,000 people had marched in cities across the country, including Hamburg, Leipzig, Cologne and Stuttgart, according to figures compiled by public broadcaster ARD.

- 'How can we trust him?' -

Centre-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz on X said that hundreds of thousands had turned out to send a message: "Never with the far right."

He has warned that the conservatives and the far right could soon join forces to govern the country, as has been the case elsewhere in Europe -- including neighbouring Austria.

Even if Merz has rejected governing with the AfD, "he already betrayed his word last week," protester Matina Beibel told AFP. "So how can we trust him?"

Even Merz's predecessor at the head of the CDU, former chancellor Angela Merkel, branded leaning on the AfD a "mistake" in a rare rebuke from the veteran politician.

Merz has strongly criticised the AfD and vowed never to govern with it.

But he has promised an about-turn on immigration from the open-door policy of his more centrist predecessor and party rival Merkel.

That 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 darkened the mood in Germany over the arrival of millions of war refugees and other asylum seekers in recent years.

Merz, whose party is polling at 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 is a high-risk gamble that will only pander to the extreme forces 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.

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