Thousands March for Democracy Before Eastern German Vote

Thousands of people marched through Magdeburg on Saturday, carrying signs that read “more love, less hate” and “a better life without Nazis.” The demonstration took place one day before a regional election that could give Germany’s far right an unprecedented postwar breakthrough.

The march in Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt, was organized by a coalition called “Saxony-Anhalt: Open to the World.” Another placard offered a pointed reminder of migration’s place in German life: “the potato is also of foreign origin.”

The Alternative for Germany, known as the AfD, leads polling in the small eastern state, which has 2.1 million inhabitants. The party combines anti-migrant and pro-Russian positions with support for Donald Trump and is expected to top the vote.

A first-place finish would mark the AfD’s first regional election victory and an unprecedented success for the far right in postwar Germany. The party is not assured of winning the absolute majority needed to govern alone. Every other party has so far rejected a coalition with the AfD, while members of the pro-Russian left-wing BSW remain split over whether to cooperate.