Protests at Brandenburg Gate and in Potsdam after AfD victory in Saxony-Anhalt
Demonstrators gathered at the Brandenburg Gate and in Potsdam after Alternative for Germany’s strong result in the Saxony-Anhalt regional vote.
Thousands of people gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and in nearby Potsdam to protest the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) after the party’s decisive win in the Saxony-Anhalt state election.
Demonstrations and turnout
Police put the Berlin rally at about 5,000 participants and said the demonstration passed without incidents, while organisers estimated the crowd at roughly 14,000. Several hundred people also demonstrated in Potsdam on the same evening.
The protest drew public figures and party candidates: climate activist Luisa Neubauer joined demonstrators in Berlin, and the main candidates of the Greens and The Left for Berlin’s state election — scheduled for 20 September — were also present.
Protesters carried banners reading “Fascism is not an alternative” and “Stop the Nazis from AfD! Stop racism and social cuts” and chanted “All together against fascism!”
The demonstrations came after the AfD scored a historic victory in Saxony-Anhalt, an eastern German state of about 2.1 million people with its capital at Magdeburg. In the regional vote the AfD won 43.8% of the vote and 39 of the 83 seats in the state parliament; an absolute majority would have required 42 seats.
The ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz finished second with 15 seats. The Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens and The Left each won eight seats, while the small left-populist party BSW took five seats. None of those parties wants to cooperate with the AfD to form a regional government.
Photo: EPA/CLEMENS BILAN
