Police have launched an investigation into an election campaign leaflet being circulated by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which, designed as a facsimile of a plane ticket, calls for the deportation of “illegal immigrants.”
Published on the website of AfD’s local Karlsruhe branch, the flyer resembles a boarding pass with the words “only remigration can still save Germany” printed across it plus the date, 23 February, the day Germany holds its general election. Some 30,000 fliers were distributed in the southwestern city, according to the German news agency dpa.
Police say their criminal investigation is based on suspicion of incitement to hatred.
Some social media users claim copies of the flyer were delivered specifically to the homes of migrants, whereas AfD Karlsruhe maintains that the flyer was sent to all eligible voters.
Karlsruhe mayor, Frank Mentrup, declared that AfD had gone too far. Finding “such notes in the letterbox reinforces a feeling of insecurity and fear”, he said.
With a weakening economy and migration among the top issues of concern to voters, the latest polls show AfD with a 20% approval rating, and currently in second place. The party was recently endorsed by Elon Musk. However, regardless of how the party fares, the hopes that Alice Weidel, the party’s candidate for chancellor, might become Germany’s next leader are considered unrealistic given that none of the major parties are willing to work with AfD.
While no other party has demanded the deportation of migrants in general, a majority of Germans favour increased and swifter deportations for those migrants refused asylum in the country. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has promised to step up the deportation of rejected asylum seekers.
According to Frontex, the European Union’s border control agency, the number of irregular border crossings into the E.U. fell significantly last year. In Germany, the numbers applying for asylum fell sharply. Last year, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees received 250,945 applicants, down 30.2% from 2023.
Just 12 months ago, following weeks of mass protests, AfD tried to distance itself from far-right calls for the “remigration” of millions of people with immigrant roots. Now, the party is openly lobbying for remigration. At a party convention on the weekend, Weidel said Germany’s borders should be closed to undocumented migration. She called for large-scale deportations of asylum seekers.
Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser sharply rejected AfD’s anti-migration sentiment and warned against dividing Germans into first and second class citizens based on their heritage. Almost 25 million of Germany’s 84 million population have immigrants origins. .
Germany is facing a massive skilled labour shortage. Experts estimate that the country needs about 400,000 skilled immigrants each year as the workforce ages and shrinks. Companies across the country fear that AfD’s anti-foreigner stance will further deter much-needed migrants from moving to Germany for work.
