German protesters demand AfD ban after far-right election win
Tens of thousands of people marched in about 20 German cities on Saturday to demand a ban on the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). The protests followed the AfD's landslide victory in the Saxony-Anhalt state election, where it won nearly 44 percent of the vote. Organizers said around 150,000 people took part, while the AfD held a counter-rally in Berlin.
The demonstrations drew participants from a broad civil society coalition, with organizers reporting roughly 25,000 attendees in Hamburg and 12,000 in Munich, while police confirmed thousands more at separate Berlin rallies. The AfD countered with its own Berlin event featuring Kristin Brinker, the party's lead candidate for the capital's upcoming regional election.
The Saxony-Anhalt result marked a historic breakthrough: the AfD captured nearly 44 percent of the vote on September 6, dwarfing the CDU's 17 percent under Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The party now holds 39 of 83 state parliament seats, three short of a majority, and has signaled willingness to seek coalition partners despite the longstanding "firewall" policy under which mainstream parties refuse to govern with it. A successful coalition would make the AfD the first far-right party to lead a German state since 1945.
This moment could reshape Germany's political landscape significantly. If the AfD forms a state government, it may normalize far-right governance and pressure the "firewall" policy that has contained the party for years. The protests suggest deep societal unease, particularly given Germany's historical responsibility, and could influence voter behavior in upcoming regional elections. However, the legal hurdles to banning the AfD remain substantial, and the party's electoral momentum may continue regardless of protest pressure.