A secret meeting between the far-right political party the AfD and neo-Nazis has shocked Germans. Thousands have been protesting across the country after investigative journalists said they had discovered the meeting was to map out a “masterplan” for mass deportations if the party came to power.
Michael Safi hears how in the meeting an Austrian far-right extremist was said to have discussed his ideas for “re-migration”, a euphemism for the deporting of migrants who have broken the law or not “assimilated”, even if they were German citizens. The AfD leader has fired one aide who attended the meeting and insisted they were not planning mass deportations. For more than a week Germans have been rallying in protest about the meeting – yet it has had a surprisingly small effect on the poll ratings of the AfD.
The Guardian’s Berlin correspondent, Kate Connolly, explains who the AfD are, why they have been surging in popularity – thanks to their focus on migration and a cost of living crisis – and why the shadow of nazism has made the grassroots backlash against them so heartfelt.
Photograph: Annegret Hilse/Reuters
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