The city of Chemnitz is eager to show that it is not the hotbed of far-right activity that last week’s violent protests made it out to be. Up to 50,000 people gathered in the east German city Monday for a free anti-racism concert. That same day, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged the country to mobilize against hate. But despite the lip-service paid to diversity, there are still a number of signs that Germany’s far-right has gained momentum and is encroaching on more mainstream political groups, in the wake of far-right protests there last week. Alternative for Germany (AfD), a far-right, anti-immigrant party, made significant gains in last year’s general elections. After a German man was allegedly killed by an immigrant last month, far-right factions gathered in Chemnitz to stage an anti-migrant rally. AfD politician Markus Frohnmaier tweeted at the time that it was “citizens’ duty to stop the [death-bringing] ‘knife migration!’” Advertisement Now, amid that chaos, a new poll by the Erfurt-based Institute for New Social Answers (INSA) purports to show AfD overtaking the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) to become Germany’s second-most popular political party, behind Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc. According to the poll, AfD has the support of 17 percent of Germans, compared with 16 percent for the SPD. AfD is specifically gaining strength in the southern state of Bavaria ahead of a regional election this October. The region has long been dominated by the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), the sister party of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). However, recent polls show it losing the support necessary to gain an outright majority, with the Greens polling at 15.1 percent and AfD at 13.5 percent. This could mean that the Bavarian CSU might be forced to enter into an alliance with another party come October, weakening their political capital. Angel Merkel’s 2015 decision to allow in more than one million migrants has triggered a simmering resentment which has now morphed into a fully formed political backlash, one evidenced by AfD’s progression. Despite immigration levels falling significantly in the last three years, a series of incidents, including the rape and death of a student in 2016, the murder of a doctor in 2018 and now the alleged stabbing of a man in Chemnitz — all at the hands of migrants — have fanned the flames of the far-right. Last week’s rally in Chemnitz subsequently drew 8,000 participants, making it one of the biggest post-war far-right rallies Germany has seen. Advertisement “They are challenging our democratic state in a way they have not done before,” Barbara Ludwig, the mayor of Chemnitz, told the New York Times, referring to the far-right protesters. “We must pass this test.” The German state has responded strongly to the protests so far. Police admitted that they were initially under-equipped to handle the demonstration, but have since promised to meet future far-right rallies with the full force of the law. Politicians at the Bundestag (Parliament) have also called on the nation’s domestic intelligence to put AfD under surveillance on suspicion of undermining Germany’s constitution. It remains to be seen whether Merkel’s government will retain the political capital to reign in the far-right in the coming months.<doc-sep>Chemnitz protests: Far right on march in east Germany By Jenny Hill BBC Berlin correspondent Published 29 August 2018 image copyright EPA image caption An estimated 6,000 people turned out for a second night of protests in Chemnitz On an overcast afternoon, small candles flicker on the paving stones where, in the early hours of Sunday morning, a German carpenter in his thirties was fatally stabbed in a street fight. Even now, complete strangers arrive to lay flowers, stand in silence, hold hands. This growing makeshift memorial has become a focus for this troubled city's grief and anger. Little is known about how or why the brawl started. Police have dismissed rumours circulating online that the man was defending a woman from sexual assault. But within hours of his death in hospital, news that his killers were suspected to have been a Syrian and an Iraqi man triggered a furious and violent reaction. For two nights running, hundreds and then thousands of right-wing extremists and sympathisers have taken to the streets. media caption There were violent clashes between rival groups of protesters after the stabbing in Chemnitz The police openly admit they have been caught on the back foot both by the number of protesters and the speed at which they have mobilised. The groups behind the demonstrations have used social media to bring people together quickly. On Monday night in particular, organisers were able to galvanise supporters from all over the country. The seemingly spontaneous outbreak of violent xenophobia has shocked many in Germany. Pictures of demonstrators openly using the Nazi salute - a criminal offence in Germany - chasing and attacking people of foreign appearance and flinging bottles and fireworks have horrified many Germans, for whom the legacy of World War Two is a lasting belief that this country bears a special responsibility to fight any form of fascism. But many are not surprised. How big is the far right in the east? Right-wing sentiment and extremism have tended to find more fertile ground in Germany's former east - fuelled, some argue, by the social and economic inequality that followed reunification. Associated violence was much higher last year for example in this part of the country than the west. The head of Saxony's intelligence services, Gordian Meyer-Plath, has said there is an organised scene in Chemnitz that includes right-wing hooligan structures such as the "NS boys" or "Kaotik Chemnitz" - organised around their support for the local football club. Both groups took part in the weekend's demonstrations. The intelligence services reckon there were just over 23,000 right-wing extremists in Germany in 2016. German authorities have now vowed to intensify their efforts in the fight against them. But people who would describe themselves as ordinary citizens joined the demonstrations in Chemnitz, too. image copyright Getty Images image caption Many protesters held placards saying "Stop the asylum flood' but asylum numbers have fallen considerably since 2015 Since 2015, when hundreds of thousands of people sought asylum in Germany, anti-migrant sentiment has manifested much more strongly in the old east. Anti-migrant grassroots movement Pegida harnessed public concern in Saxony with weekly marches in Dresden, which at their height attracted 20,000 people. Some were extremists. But all marched together, chanting the old Nazi slogan "Lügenpresse" (lying press). Pegida also encouraged demonstrations in Chemnitz at the weekend, but it is no longer the force it was. Hard on its heels came the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. AfD goes from strength to strength Saxony may have encountered relatively few asylum seekers. But it is a stronghold for the anti-migrant party which national polls suggest is also on its way to becoming the country's second largest party. The pictures from Chemnitz - the rage, the sorrow, the violence - suggest a Germany aflame with resistance to migration. There is much evidence to the contrary. The number of people seeking asylum has fallen steeply and there are integration success stories - one in four new arrivals has a job. A national poll recently found that Germans are now more concerned about health, pensions and climate policy. But migration remains a highly charged political theme. And, even as local politicians appeal for calm, Germany's establishment has yet to find a way to truly soothe the disquiet which roared into such violence at the weekend.<doc-sep>
Thousands of far-right, anti-immigrant protesters have clashed with counterprotesters in the eastern German city of Chemnitz over the past two days, amplifying tensions over the issue of migration. The protests began after a 35-year-old German man was fatally stabbed Sunday following an altercation, and an Iraqi man and Syrian man were arrested Monday in connection with the death. But after the stabbing incident on Sunday, far-right groups called on their supporters to gather in Chemnitz to “defend” their country from migrants, according to the New York Times. The Guardian reports that at least three individuals, including a Syrian, a Bulgarian, and an Afghan, were injured in Sunday’s riots. On Monday, the protests intensified when thousands of far-right demonstrators descended on the city center en masse. They chanted nationalistic slogans (“Chemnitz is ours — foreigners out”) and reportedly gave Nazi salutes. They also clashed with hundreds of leftist counterprotesters, leaving more than a dozen injured. A video also circulated that showed what appeared to be right-wing protesters chasing a person whom they perceived to be a foreigner through the streets. In response, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has offered to send federal assistance to quell the violence, as local police faced criticism for failing to tamp down the demonstrations and counterdemonstrations. Merkel also condemned the protests, with her spokesperson saying that “what was seen yesterday in parts of Chemnitz and what was recorded on video has no place in our country.” VIDEO: Xenophobia rears its head in eastern Germany with far-right protests in the city of #Chemnitz degenerating into attacks against foreign-looking people after Sunday's fatal stabbing of a German man, allegedly by a Syrian and an Iraqi pic.twitter.com/ToMkN00mG1 — AFP news agency (@AFP) August 28, 2018 A third day of protests was planned for Tuesday, the Guardian reports. Germany’s far-right party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), appeared to help fan the tensions in Chemnitz, with some its leaders voicing support for the far-right protesters. Markus Frohnmaier, an AfD MP, tweeted, “If the state is no longer to protect citizens then people take to the streets and protect themselves. It’s as simple as that!” Protests break out as the far right rises in Germany The AfD has been steadily gaining support in Germany in the wake of Merkel’s “open door” refugee policy, which has allowed nearly 1 million asylum seekers into the country in 2015. In the eastern German state of Saxony, where Chemnitz is located, the party has made big gains; according to the Associated Press, the AfD won nearly a quarter of the vote just in Chemnitz last year. The rise of the AfD and anti-immigrant sentiment has put pressure on Merkel and her increasingly fragile governing coalition. In July, Merkel agreed to impose more restrictions on asylum seekers to help preserve her position in the government. Germany’s tensions are reflected across Europe, where anti-immigration sentiment is on the rise from Austria to Italy to Sweden. Immigration has dipped sharply from its high point in 2015, when hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and persecution sought refuge in Europe. But many countries are still struggling to absorb the nearly 2 million newcomers spread out across the continent — and dealing with the xenophobia that has erupted in the wake of the influx.