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Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) in the Bundestag about right-wing extremist plans: an “inhumane nightmare that we must all prevent together”

Photo: Marco Rauch / dpa

Representatives of the government parties and the Union emotionally discussed the networking of AfD officials with right-wing extremists in a current hour in the Bundestag.

The background is a meeting made public by the research platform “Correctiv” in a hotel in Potsdam last November, at which AfD members discussed plans to deport people with a migration background with members of the right-wing extremist identity movement.

“At its core is the dream of a society that is brought into line and excludes everything that does not fit into its racist and anti-freedom ideology,” said

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser

in a speech.

“This is an inhumane nightmare that we all have to prevent together and will prevent together,” said the SPD politician.

"The AfD wants to drive millions of people from the middle of society out of this country," said

SPD leader Lars Klingbeil

.

The people who are currently taking to the streets against such plans are “stronger than the AfD.”

Green party leader Britta Haßelmann

also clearly criticized the right-wing extremist activities of AfD officials.

"With the secret meeting in Potsdam, the barbaric plans for mass deportation become clear and obvious to everyone," said Haßelmann.

Konstantin Kuhle, deputy FDP parliamentary group leader,

commented on the plans discussed in Potsdam.

He spoke of a "call to all of us to work together in society, with each other, with the citizens, to fight this spirit."

Union establishes connection between AfD poll numbers and traffic light government

"I think it's right to brand these terrible activities for what they are with all clarity and consistency," said

CDU/CSU parliamentary secretary Thorsten Frei

, referring to the Potsdam meeting.

At the same time, he expressed criticism of the traffic lights.

The high poll numbers for the AfD were "crucially linked to the fact that 80 percent of people do not believe that this government is pursuing policies that are good for our country," said Frei.

His statements caused audible displeasure among members of the governing parties in the plenary session.

Bernd Baumann, First Parliamentary Managing Director of the AfD,

downplayed the meeting between AfD officials and members of the right-wing extremist Identitarian Movement (IB) in Potsdam.

“Even small, private debate clubs are being blown up into dangerous secret meetings,” said Baumann.

He also pointed out that CDU members also took part in the meeting.

Baumann accused the traffic light parties of distorting the AfD's political demands.

“We have always called for the return or remigration of all migrants who are not entitled to protection under the law.”

The word “remigration” was recently voted “unword of the year” by a jury of linguists.

Accordingly, the term is widespread in the right-wing extremist milieu and is a "euphemism for the demand for forced expulsion and even mass deportations of people with a migration history" - even if they have German citizenship.

In his speech, Baumann specifically called for the deportation of foreigners who "only enjoy temporary protection as civil war refugees."

»This protection ends when the war is over.

The war in Syria is over, so 600,000 Syrians have to go back," said Baumann.

The AfD politician's statements caused outraged heckling from other members of parliament.

fek/dpa