Erfurt (dpa/th) - Representatives of several parliamentary groups and the state government have accused the AfD faction of playing with the concerns and uncertainty of people in the energy crisis. "The AfD wants a winter of fear," said Environment Minister Anja Siegesmund (Greens) on Wednesday in the state parliament in Erfurt. Criticism also came from Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (left). Previously, AfD faction leader Björn Höcke had presented a catalog of demands with which the AfD, according to him, wants to give the street protests of citizens a voice.
Demonstrators gathered near the state parliament - the AfD had called for the action on the Internet. The police were in action with a larger contingent. Because of right-wing extremist tendencies, the AfD in Thuringia is being monitored by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
In the state parliament, the AfD demanded, among other things, an immediate stop to arms deliveries to Ukraine and an end to sanctions against Russia, which had launched a war of aggression against Ukraine. It was also requested to open the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and to abolish the corona-related wearing of masks in certain areas or testing obligations.
On a day when Russian President Vladimir Putin mobilized 300,000 reservists against Ukraine, the AfD demands were a disgrace, Ramelow said. "Think carefully about who you are going out with," Siegesmund appealed to the Thuringians. There are ways to curb the high energy costs and to ensure security of supply. According to Siegesmund, Thuringia's gas storage facilities are currently 98 percent full, nationwide it is 90 percent.
The FDP MP and Vice President of the Landtag, Dirk Bergner, accused the AfD of having submitted a paper "which was full of insinuations and aggressive language". The SPD MP Dorothea Marx denied the AfD to represent the interests of demonstrators.
