Protests against the CDU and AfD: Koblenz becomes the center of democracy!

Protests against the CDU and AfD: Koblenz becomes the center of democracy!

In Koblenz, over 500 people gathered on January 30 for a demonstration against the cooperation between the CDU and AfD in the German Bundestag. The event of the protest was an application that was passed by the CDU with votes from the AfD, which is considered a breach of taboo. The event was organized by Moritz Bartsch, the co-spokesman for Die Linke in the district association Koblenz / Rhein-Lahn. The route led from the Koblenzer Zentralplatz via the CDU party office to Reichenpergerplatz, where 15 speakers from various democratic parties and civil society had their say.

The speeches addressed the rejection of hate, exclusion, racism and xenophobia as well as support for human dignity and an open society. The demand to the democratic parties was particularly emphasized to exclude a coalition with the CDU and FDP. In addition to the representatives of Die Linke, the SPD, the Greens and the party were also present, supported by other groups such as members of the Sinti and Roma, the organization Stonewall and the left youth ['Solid].

nationwide protest actions

This demonstration was part of a greater movement. On the same weekend, demonstrations against right -wing extremism took place nationwide. In Berlin, at least 160,000 people took part in the rally "Uprising of the decent-demo for the fire wall", which moved from the Reichstag building to the CDU federal center. Organizers even spoke of up to 250,000 participants. In his speech, publicist Michel Friedman emphasized the importance of human dignity and criticized the cooperation between the Union and AfD as endangering for democratic values.

In other cities such as Bonn, Saarbrücken, Kiel and Hamburg, the protesting thousands mobilized. In Hamburg, for example, around 65,000 people demonstrated under the motto "Hamburg stands together: If you pact with fascists, you have not understood anything!" The AfD is increasingly encountering resistance within society and is classified by the protection of the constitution as a right -wing extremist suspicion.

democratic commitment and future prospects

The protest actions carried out in the past few weeks have achieved significant number of participants. According to official information, around 1.98 million people took part in demonstrations against right -wing extremism, which shows a remarkable solidarity of the population. Political scientists like Ursula Münch are positive about the mobilization, which proves that the "silent majority" becomes active in society. However, Münch warns that parties should not only rely on this commitment and emphasizes the need to involve citizens in political work.

The demonstrations could also be perceived as a festival of democracy and promote a strengthening of democratic values, especially human dignity. Protest researcher Dieter Rucht observes a possible hardening of the fronts between the right and democrats. He hopes that the commitment beyond the demonstrations will continue and pass into civil society groups.

In the coming weeks, the topic of migration, which is already in the focus of the current political discussion, will continue to become more important, especially with a view to the upcoming federal elections. Experts discuss intensively on the dynamic interaction between social mobilization and political action.