Hundreds of thousands of people turned out in central Munich over the weekend to protest the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party ahead of elections in Germany. The size of the protest, with many holding pro-immigration signs, was a surprise and is one of the largest rallies the city has ever seen.
The AfD party have seen considerable electoral gains and growing support in recent years, amid a charged political atmosphere over migration. Ahead of elections on February 23rd, brought about by the late-2024 collapse of a fragile coalition government, the AfD are now polling five points higher than current chancellor Olaf Scholz’ SPD party, having trailed the SPD by 15 points less than three years ago.
The growing influence of the AfD, and concerns among the German centre-right that they may lose more voters to them, led to the bombshell decision by the leader of the Christian Democrats – currently on top of election polls – to accept limited support and cooperation with the AfD, previously a red line for mainstream parties.
The decision by the CDU’s Friedrich Merz attracted swift and severe criticism around Germany, and the SPD’s Scholz has directly attacked his rival for it. In response to this, as well as general anxiety over the rise of the AfD, large demonstrations have taken place around the country.
Munich’s demonstration on Saturday drew a crowd far bigger than was expected. Some estimates put it at 320,000 people in attendance. Even the more conservative estimates of 200,000 to 250,000 make it the largest demonstration to date.
“It was very calm and peaceful,” said Marien, a Munich native in her late 20s, who was at the protest with her family (and asked not to have her last name revealed for fear of being identified by far-right activists). “There were all sorts of people, old and young and from various backgrounds. It was a very relaxed atmosphere and it made me almost hopeful to see how many people are actively protesting against right-wing ideologies.”
The AfD’s long-standing opposition to immigration is a central pillar of the party’s electoral platform. The party also opposes diversity programmes in the workplace, something that has seen them draw fierce criticism from high-profile members of the German business community. At the same time, the party has drawn much support from ordinary Germans amid a pitched political moment, with the issue of immigration being linked to economic prosperity and security after a number of attacks linked to people with a migration background.
Marien, who herself has a mixed immigration background, says the growing support for the AfD is what prompted her to join the protest. She is particularly concerned about the human rights of immigrants and other vulnerable groups being taken away, which she feels is “what would happen if the AfD come to power, especially regarding immigration. There’s an obvious shift in today’s politics towards the right and I wanted to go to show that I’m not a part of that and was very happy to see that a lot of people think similarly.”
The German elections take place on February 23rd. Current polling puts the Christian Democrat bloc at 30%, followed by the AfD with 22%, SPD with 17% and Greens with 13%.