As one European nationalist party saw its grip on power end abruptly in Hungary over the weekend, another was riding a wave of popularity that is strengthening its hold on German politics.
The Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) chapter in the former East German state of Saxony-Anhalt held its party congress over the weekend, ahead of state elections in September that could deliver the party – once a political outcast – its first absolute majority in its 13-year history.
In a passionate speech to around 250 delegates, the far-right party’s telegenic lead candidate in the region, Ulrich Siegmund, gave a clear sense of what AfD rule might look like in the state.
“We say yes to consistent deportations,” the highly popular social media star told the congress on Saturday in the state capital Magdeburg. Later, the party members adopted a150-page manifesto for the state that many are calling “radical.”
In a draft of the manifesto, which CNN has seen, the AfD calls for major change in migration, education, welfare and energy policies. It advocates “a complete 180-degree turn” in migration policy to include deportation and what it terms “remigration” – a word with Nazi connotations. Ukrainian refugees who fled the war would be among those targeted.
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