Rising prices and high energy costs: the concern of existential hardship is driving thousands of people in Saxony onto the streets this weekend. The camps are very different.
Dresden/Plauen (dpa/sn) - Several thousand people demonstrated this weekend in Saxony against the measures against the energy crisis and for a more social policy. Around 2,000 people took to the streets in Dresden on Saturday at a rally for solidarity and for redistribution in the energy crisis. A left-wing alliance of trade unions, environmental groups and social organizations had called under the motto "Solidarity Autumn".
There is great concern for the people who can no longer pay the rising prices for food and energy, said Sylvia Bühler, member of the federal board of Verdi, at the rally in the Saxon state capital. Bühler clearly rejected the idea of appropriating the protests by right-wing extremists. "We are deeply convinced that hatred and hate speech endanger our peaceful coexistence." Sebastian Wegner, federal manager of the social association Volkssolidarität, called for a "protective shield for services of general interest in order to also protect social institutions".
The alliance had also mobilized people in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hanover and Stuttgart. According to the organizers, at least 24,000 people protested in total. However, the police estimated the number lower. According to the police, things had remained quiet in Dresden.
On Sunday, numerous people demonstrated in Plauen (Vogtlandkreis) against German politics in the energy crisis. The "Forum for Democracy and Freedom" called for the rally and registered 5,000 participants. In the subsequent elevator through the city center there were around 1700, as a police spokesman said on request.
The federal government in particular was criticized during the demonstration. On posters, participants demanded, among other things, "The traffic light has to go". According to a dpa reporter, Russian flags were occasionally waved. The AfD and the Free Saxony party, which is assigned to the right-wing extremist spectrum, had set up a stand on the sidelines of the meeting.
The forum had already twice called for demonstrations in Plauen in September. At that time between 4000 and 5000 people came. Plauen's Lord Mayor Steffen Zenner (CDU) had previously expressed understanding for demonstrating citizens. In his opinion, however, the "Forum for Democracy and Freedom" is not "based on our basic understanding of democracy".
