On the eve of the elections in Germany, the far right seeks to mobilize the “anti-ax”

Published on : 09/22/2021 – 09:41

“Germany, but normal” can be read in capital letters on the banners of the Alternative for Germany, AfD. Lagging behind in the polls ahead of the German federal elections, scheduled for Sunday, September 26, this far-right movement is seeking to rebuild its health by becoming the party for anti-vaccines against Covid-19, and more broadly, people who are resistant to restrictive measures against the coronavirus.

The town of Bautzen, in Saxony, stronghold of the AfD voters, thus holds a double record: it is the constituency where the AfD obtained the most votes in the last elections, and it is also there that the Covid-19 incidence rate remains the highest.

>> Germany: all you need to know about the general elections

Joint events

“I don’t know anyone who died of Covid-19. On the other hand, people who were very sick after the vaccination or who died from it, yes”, explains one of the residents, with France 24. “Fortunately, “There is the AfD. They, at least, are listening to us. The others consider us as fascists”, replies another.

In this constituency, the AfD deputy Karsten Hilse, who won the poll in 2017, has every chance of retaining his seat. Asked by France 24, he does not hesitate to question the seriousness of the pandemic: “In our opinion, the incidence figures are manipulated to scare the population. It is unbearable to see that we are doing everything to panic people, ”he says.

Each week, members of the AfD and anti-vaccines meet on a departmental road in the city to demonstrate against health measures.

“A party which denies the reality of the pandemic and which feeds the rejection of vaccination, I consider that it is very dangerous”, deplores with France 24 Claus Gruhl, municipal councilor ecologist in Bautzen.

Nationally, only 63.4% of the German population is doubly vaccinated, far from the target stated by the government. And the five eastern regions, where the AfD is most influential, including Saxony, have the lowest vaccination rates.