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Anger is diffuse, but it is great. This was shown on Wednesday in front of the home of Thuringian Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow: there, the left-wing politician said the next day, on the sidelines of a trade fair in Erfurt, strangers had turned off a grave light and placed a note next to her: a call for a large demonstration in Leipzig. “Yes,” Ramelow said, “I feel threatened.”
Police are now investigating an alleged threat. Ramelow has become a figure of hatred in certain circles because he imposed drastic protection measures in the crisis of the crown in his state, protection measures by which part of the population feels intimidated.
Anger about it should erupt in Leipzig on Saturday when an alliance of crown deniers, mask deniers, conspiracy believers and other angry citizens take to the streets. The authorities have around 16,000 participants, originally even more than 20,000, and a total of 27 meetings were recorded on Friday morning alone. The protesters want to come from all over Germany, the police are preparing for a confusing situation and clashes.
Subversion fantasies and historical ties
Behind the central rally are the “lateral thinking” alliances of Leipzig and Stuttgart, which demand, among other things, the withdrawal of the reinforced protection measures against the pandemic and the resignation of the federal government. Wherever the movement occurs, the mood is characterized by a mix of legitimate concerns about closure, diffuse hatred of “those above” and extremist fantasies of subversion.
“All Germany is invited,” read a solemn press release from the organizers, “history repeats itself.” A YouTube video shows which story he is referring to: Underlined by pathetic music, historical recordings from November 6, 1989 appear amid video recordings of demonstrations of “lateral thinking”: At that time, hundreds of thousands of opponents of the SED regime they demonstrated for freedom of travel and freedom of the press in Leipzig.
“In the same place, just 31 years later, we want to do exactly that again,” he says in the “lateral thinking” demonstration call. “Please bring candles.”
Using a similar narrative, the AfD celebrated great successes in state elections in East Germany last year: “Complete the change,” it was said on posters in Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony, as if the far-right party were the only force for opposition against a supposed system of injustice.
Many people are outraged that the organizers of “lateral thinking” are following the tradition of peaceful revolution. “We vehemently contradict the equating of the GDR dictatorship with the current liberal constitutional state,” said Leipzig SPD leader Holger Mann. “The GDR was a dictatorship and not a pandemic.”
Authorities are also concerned about protection against infection. Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer warns of a “crown spread event”: “20,000 people cannot behave in a place in such a way that they do not pose a risk of infection,” said Chemnitz CDU politician “Free Press”.
The city of Leipzig sees it in a similar way: it would take a huge area for so many people to be able to demonstrate with a minimum distance of 1.50 meters from each other, says Heiko Rosenthal, a city councilor for order. So it was decided to move the rally to a parking lot behind the exhibition halls, at the northern end of the city. Therefore, demonstration trains are banned throughout the city due to protection against infection, and the obligation to wear a mask and keep your distance applies.
The organizers of the “lateral thinking” do not want to accept that their massive concentration does not take place in the same place as the 1989 demonstrations: they have filed complaints against the requirements of the city, the case is in the administrative court.
The hotel chain does not accept guests on weekends.
The question of whether hygiene measures can be observed in the face of so many protesters also concerns other aspects: traveling in private buses is as unacceptable for demonstration participants as staying in hotels, says Rosenthal. Anyway, it is “undue infiltration of the Crown Protection Ordinance” to reserve a room.
It will be examined, according to Rosenthal, to impose fines in such cases. This may not even be necessary: The Motel One hotel chain, for example, which has apparently been an insider tip among arriving demo participants, has decided not to accept guests this weekend.
However, that shouldn’t change the rush. Several right-wing organizations participate in the demonstration. According to the “Leipziger Volkszeitung”, the Saxon constitutional protection agency recorded a massive mobilization among right-wing extremists. According to the municipal administration, a meeting of the Islamophobic “Pax Europa citizen movement” has been announced, which will take place in the market.
In addition, left-wing groups are also mobilizing, according to the city, there have been seven counter-demonstrations: “We call for resolute protest and also, where possible, to spoil their travel and stay in our city,” said a message from “The Leipzig Action Network takes place”. Saturday was about conspiracy believers, right-wingers and supporters of the “Reichsbürger” scene.
Meanwhile, the founder of “lateral thinking”, Michael Ballweg, claims that his initiative was driven solely by concern for democratic processes: “There is no place in the movement for right wing, left extremist, anti-Semitic, fascist or inhumane ideas. “he told the dpa news agency. “We cannot prevent a few extremist-minded people from being at our rallies,” Ballweg said. In case of doubt, it would be up to the police to intervene.
According to his own information, he is preparing for a “very intense mission.” Not only the Saxon riot police, but also LKA agents and the federal police will be on duty: eight federal states are sending support to Saxony. You know that extremists from the left and right want to be in Leipzig on Saturday, says Police Chairman Torsten Schultze, and you know the “calls to violence”.
The prime minister apparently also expects violent clashes: “Freedom of expression is given within the legal framework,” he told “Free Press.” Anyone who does not follow the rules will feel that this will not be tolerated: “We do not live in anarchy.”
It remains to be seen how anarchic Saturday will be in Leipzig.
