the Hartmannfabrik, the slogans of the protesters are barely audible and are of a low rumbling sound, with eruptions of rage. The procession has been maintained enough distance to prevent overflows. In the streets of Chemnitz, the radical right runs against the immigration and Angela Merkel, as she had done at the end of the summer, after the death of a German in the streets of the city killed by two refugees. The violence that had followed, interspersed with greetings hitlerites, had shocked the whole of Germany.
inside the building, the chancellor moved to a desk front of a hundred of the readers of the Free Press , the local newspaper, who was invited to a discussion. The place, coloured blue lights on the walls of raw concrete, is not made for it… next To the audience of chairs, an art installation made up of boxes that vibrate and another, referring to the Berlin wall, remind us that Chemnitz, with its 245,000 is inhabitants, is not only a city in anger.
” READ ALSO – Germany: Chemnitz, a fertile ground for the extreme right.
Nearly three months after the tragedy, Angela Merkel travelled, as she had promised, in this city of Saxony traumatized. A little later, to the eyes of the people. “I know that my person is polarizing”, is justified in hoping, in coming into deferred, we can respond more calmly to the questions of the population. “I am always ready to discuss with those who want it,” she continued. This is not the case of the protesters outside: “When he is not screaming, there is more room for discussion,” she said.
“Why do you defend a multicultural society ?”
The first players to take the floor, installed to the right and to the left of the chancellor, have been chosen by the editor. The exchange begins. Three men and a woman questioning Angela Merkel on the tragedy of the end of the summer, on its asylum policy, on the feeling of the Germans Is to be “second class citizens” in their countries.
The chancellor meets with all the rationality that characterizes it: it condemns murder, condemns the excesses of the far right, accepts his decision not to close the borders in 2015, defends the measures taken to reduce and control the migration flows, promises to do better. It attempts to shed light on the complexity of the political decision-making. It is also trying to show itself to the listening of a region that feels neglected: “You have all the reasons to be proud of what you have done in Saxony,” says Angela Merkel.
olympian Calm
Then the floor is given to the room. The microphone passes from hand to hand, and the stops are more harsh, more militant. “What do you do against chaos in Germany?” “Why do you defend a multicultural society?” “When démissionnerez you?” “Why do you support the pact on migration?”
This text, adopted by the UN and non-legally binding for States, became the new object of suspicion of the radical right. “A lot of false things have been said in this regard”, corrects Angela Merkel by attempting to twist the neck to the rumors spread: this text “is in our interest to basic and we always have the right to make our own laws”, says she. As to those calling for his downfall, the chancellor reply with a calm hand, repeating what she had said in announcing his departure of the presidency of the CDU: “I am prepared to carry out my mandate to the end.”
At the end of two hours, Angela Merkel welcomes a year of “democratic” and “full of lessons”, which had rather the air of a dialogue of the deaf with his opponents. The tone asked the chancellor seems powerless in the face of emotion. She seems in a hurry to leave. But before leaving the room, she receives one last gift: a book of pictures, Chemnitz, a city with many facets.
Suspicion of illegal financing for the AfD
Turbulence in order for the Alternative für Deutschland. Its figurehead, the president of the parliamentary group Alice Weidel, is suspected of having benefited from a political financing illegal. The prosecution of Constance, the region where she was elected, decided Wednesday to open a formal investigation against her for suspicion of violation of the legislation on the financing of political parties.
A request for waiver of immunity was forwarded to the Bundestag. A gift of 150,000 francs (CHF) to a swiss entrepreneur is in question then that the German law prohibits any funding of a company not established in the european Union. Justice might also be interested, according to the media, to another anonymous donation came in from Belgium. In German law, the anonymity of donors is prohibited.
Alice Weidel, who lives partly in Switzerland, has recused himself on Friday strongly to the accusations against it. The attacks aim to “discredit,” she said. The disputed amounts will be refunded, announced on its side, the direction of the AfD by providing support to the leader.
In the formation of radical right-wing, Alice Weidel belongs to the wing so called more moderate and the pressure to circumscribe the influence of the radicals. But they still hold the line. Locally, opponents of a member of the AfD have demanded his departure from the head of the party, if the facts alleged against him were proven.
