Tens of thousands of people joined a demonstration against cooperation with the far right in Berlin on Sunday, February 16, after US Vice President JD Vance called for Germany to drop a longstanding taboo against such collaboration. Around 30,000 people took part in the protest a week ahead of a general election, according to police, while organizers put the number at around 38,000.
Many carried placards with slogans denouncing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is expected to become the second-biggest party in next Sunday's election. The demo was held under the motto "We are the firewall" – a reference to the longstanding tradition, upheld by Germany's established parties, to not work with the far right.
In a speech in Munich on Friday, Vance called on Germany to drop its resistance to having the far right in government, insisting there was "no room for firewalls." The conservative CDU-CSU alliance of former chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to be the biggest party after the election, with the AfD second.
The anti-immigration party has seen its poll ratings edge upward in recent months and is expected to register a record-breaking score of around 20% of the vote. The rise of the AfD – aided by US support, most notably from tech billionaire Elon Musk – has alarmed its critics, with several demonstrations attracting large crowds in recent weeks.
Some 250,000 people attended a demonstration against the far right in Munich last weekend, with a similar demo in Berlin the week before drawing around 160,000.