Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Germany over the past week to demonstrate against the so-called “far-right”, however, a top publication has reported that activist groups involved have been funded by the left-wing government in Berlin.
A supposedly organic outpouring of opposition to the surging Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of the federal elections on February 23rd has been called into question by a report from Bild, the highest circulation newspaper in Europe, which quipped that the “distances from the government district to the mass demonstrations are quite short.”
Last Sunday, around 160,000 people demonstrated in Berlin over the decision by the centrist Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to join with the populist AfD on an immigration vote.
One of the main organisers of the event was the “Together against the right” activist network, which was identified by Bild as a being a cutout for the leftist group Campact. According to the paper, Campact is the main shareholder in the NGO HateAid, which has received nearly 2.5 million euros from the federal government since 2020.
The Association for Environmental Protection and Nature Conservation (BUND), which has also been active in organising against the rise of the political right in Germany, was found by the report to have secured around two million euros in funding from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, led by Green chancellor candidate and outgoing finance minister Robert Habeck.
The left-wing environmentalist group is also said to have received six-figure handouts from both the Ministry of the Environment and Education in 2023.
Bild also noted the group’s politically nepotistic nature. Verena Graichen, the deputy chairwoman of BUND, is married to Michael Kellner, the Parliamentary State Secretary under Habeck. Graichen is also the sister of the former State Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Another group active in organising against upswell in support of the AfD has been the “grandmas against the right”, which was involved in a demonstration of around 24,000 people in Hanover on Saturday. The group has reportedly received at least 23,000 euros from the federal government.
It is not the first time that left-wing organisations funded by the German government have targeted the anti-mass migration party. In 2023, the taxpayer-subsidised and Soros-funded non-profit Correctiv published an “undercover” investigative report claiming that a conference attended by AfD members and Austrian identitarian activist Martin Sellner had seen calls for the “deportations of people from Germany based on a set of racist criteria, regardless of whether or not they have German citizenship.”
Attendees, including a member of the centrist Christian Democratic Union (CDU), denied the leftist organisation’s claims, which were based on hearsay rather than in-person journalism.
Nevertheless, the ensuing scandal resulted in millions of protesters taking to the streets and the AfD suffering a setback in the polls.
In addition to facing government-funded activism, there have been calls to ban the Alternative for Germany party altogether to supposedly protect democracy. Despite this, the party has continued to grow in support, particularly in the wake of multiple terror attacks over the past year committed in Germany by migrants.
This has coincided with a drastic decline in support for the governing leftist Social Democratic Party (SPD). According to a poll by the Tyson Group, conducted on behalf of the American-based EU-US Forum, a “staggering” 70 per cent of Germans disapprove of SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s job performance.
Tyson Group Vice President Alex Alvarado noted that it comes amid a broader pushback against leftist governments throughout the European Union, with the survey finding that a majority in France, Germany, and the Netherlands believe the EU is heading in the wrong direction.
“Issues like the rising cost of living, healthcare, and migration remain top concerns, while conservative solutions like stricter border controls and a focus on domestic food production garnered widespread support. This survey highlights a clear shift toward conservatism across Europe, with citizens expressing frustration with high taxes, government inefficiency, and the perceived rise of the far-left,” he said.