Massive protests over breaking a post-war taboo

A non-binding resolution on immigration restrictions has sparked outrage as people accuse the conservative CDU/CSU coalition of breaking a pledge not to cooperate with the far-right AfD. Protesters in Berlin gathered outside the CDU headquarters.

Protesters accused chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz of violating the so-called "Firewall" that prevents the AfD from taking power. (Source: DW)

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Germany on January 30 to protest against the conservative parties Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU).

The protests came a day after chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz teamed up with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to push a draft anti-immigration law through the German lower house of parliament (Bundestag).

Berlin police estimated that around 6,000 people gathered outside the CDU headquarters, higher than the expected 4,000 but lower than the 13,000 claimed by protest organizers.

The vote on January 29 was met with harsh criticism from Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Green Party and many religious and social organizations, saying it broke Germany's post-war taboo against cooperating with extremist parties.

So far, all major parties in Germany have adhered to this principle, drawing lessons from the Nazis' rise to power through democratic structures. The pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) also voted with Merz.

The "Together Against the Right" coalition called for a protest on January 30 under the slogan "No cooperation with AfD".

Carolin Moser, a co-organiser of the rally, accused Mr Merz and the CDU/CSU of "legitimising the right-wing extremism of the AfD".

As a precaution, staff at CDU headquarters were asked to leave work early, ahead of the protest on the evening of January 30.

Earlier in the day, a group of about 30-50 protesters stormed a CDU district office in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, west Berlin. The protesters, who called themselves the “Resistance” coalition, demanded that the party end all cooperation with the AfD.

The disturbance lasted about an hour, during which some property was reportedly vandalized but no one was injured.

Police have opened an investigation to determine whether the gathering violated the right to assembly law. They have filed three charges of vandalism and trespassing.

Thousands of protesters also took to the streets of the eastern German city of Dresden to express their anger, where Friedrich Merz was campaigning ahead of the German election on February 23.

He urged the leaders of the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens to “call for restraint, and for us – those at the political centre of the country – to reach consensus on the core issues that need to be discussed and decided together”.

“Part of freedom is the right to protest, but those who are blocking trains, vandalizing CDU district offices and paralyzing CDU headquarters at Adenauer House in Berlin are crossing the line,” the opposition leader stressed.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/duc-bieu-tinh-ram-ro-vi-pha-vo-mot-dieu-cam-ky-sau-chien-tranh-302718.html