BERLIN (AP) — German police have investigated an election campaign leaflet from a far-right party that resembles a plane ticket and calls for the deportation of “illegal immigrants.”
The flyer was published on the website of the local branch of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Karlsruhe. It is in the shape of a boarding pass and reads: ‘Only remigration can save Germany.’ It is dated February 23, when Germany holds a general election.
About 30,000 flyers were distributed in the southwestern city, German news agency dpa reported.
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Police in Karlsruhe told the Associated Press on Wednesday that they have launched a criminal investigation on suspicion of incitement to hatred.
The issue has also gained attention on social media, with some users claiming the flyer was deliberately thrown into migrants’ mailboxes. The AfD’s regional branch in Karlsruhe said the flyer was aimed at all eligible voters, dpa reported.
Karlsruhe Mayor Frank Mentrup said the AfD had crossed a red line with the flyer.
Finding “such notes in the letterbox increases a feeling of insecurity and fear,” and that should not be part of an election campaign, he told public broadcaster SWR.
Germany’s ailing economy and migration are among the top issues affecting voters.
Polls show the AfD in second place ahead of the elections, with around 20% support. However, the party’s candidate for chancellor, Alice Weidel, who recently held a live chat with Elon Musk after endorsing the AfD on his AfD to work together.
While other parties have not called for deportations of migrants in general, a majority of Germans support more and faster deportations of those who are not granted asylum in Germany. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has promised several times to step up the deportation of rejected asylum seekers.
Just a year ago, the AfD had tried to distance itself from far-right calls for “remigration” of millions of people with immigrant roots, which triggered weeks of mass protests. The party now openly lobbies for remigration. At a party conference last weekend, Weidel called for closing Germany’s borders to undocumented migration and large-scale deportations of asylum seekers, making it clear she has no problem with the politically charged term “remigration.”
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser sharply rejected the AfD’s anti-migration sentiment and warned against dividing Germans into first- and second-class citizens based on their heritage.
“The fact that the AfD apparently wants to expel people en masse under the term ‘remigration’ shows not only its contempt for humanity, but also how much this would damage Germany as a business location and cost jobs,” Faeser told the Rheinische Post newspaper. on Wednesday.
Germany is facing a huge shortage of skilled workers. Experts estimate that the country needs about 400,000 skilled immigrants each year as the workforce ages and shrinks. Businesses across the country fear that the AfD’s anti-foreign stance will further deter much-needed migrants from moving to Germany for work.
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Follow AP’s coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
