Gen Z protests: AfD leader Weidel warns of takeover by extremists
Alice Weidel accuses the protesters of demonstrating against the consequences of left-wing policies. The federal interior ministry sees no concrete calls for violence.
Archive image · Photo: Elekes Andor / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
AfD leader Alice Weidel has criticized the youth protests by the "Generation Z regelt" initiative planned for Saturday in 34 major cities. In a statement on Friday, she accused the protesters of demonstrating against the consequences of left-wing policies. As examples, she cited migration that she said overburdens the education and welfare systems and the housing market, and a climate policy that makes life more expensive without a measurable effect on the climate.
Weidel warned that, as in France, the protests could be hijacked by violent left-wing extremists and Islamists. At the same time, she stressed that the AfD supports political engagement and the right to demonstrate. Instead of left-wing demos, Germany needs "a federal government that finally makes policy for its own citizens again", she said.
According to t-online, the federal interior ministry sees no concrete calls for violence, but notes that parts of the left-wing extremist scene and some foreign-related extremist groups are joining the mobilization. Among other things, the initiative demands more money for schools and affordable living costs, and rejects conscription.