AfD - Essen's Lord Mayor: no room for hate and agitation
Essen Mayor Thomas Kufen sees democracy under pressure and has advocated for Variety, Tolerance and Freedom. "When extremists in our country spread their undemocratic and human-hostile worldview, we, as Democrats and Democrats, must raise our voice against it," said the CDU politician at a large event with several tens of thousands of attendees in the Ruhr region city. Democracy, Separation of Powers, Equality and Rule of Law are not negotiable, he emphasized loudly according to the speech manuscript.
"We want to stand together today for our democracy, for Freedom, Variety and Tolerance, and clearly against Exclusion and Extremism," said the mayor on Saturday at the event near the Grugahalle, where the AfD is holding their two-day federal party conference. In times when "the voices of those who openly reject our democracy and our liberal society are getting louder, it's good to see so many people setting a strong sign against it." There is no place for Hate and Vilification in Essen.
A broad coalition participated in the central protest rally, which the city Essen organized on a fairground.
City Essen to Demonstration Weekend
- Amidst the ongoing party conference of the AfD in North Rhine-Westphalia, Thomas Kufen, the CDU mayor of Essen, underscored the importance of defending democracy against extremist views, during his speech at the large event with tens of thousands of attendees.
- The city of Essen organized a broad coalition protest rally as part of a Demonstration Weekend, in response to the growing voices of those rejecting democracy and liberal society, as noted by Mayor Kufen.
- In a statement, Mayor Kufen emphasized that parties, regardless of their affiliations, must raise their voices against undemocratic and human-hostile worldviews, which threaten the core values of democracy, such as Separation of Powers, Equality, and Rule of Law.
- In the spirit of standing together for democracy, Freedom, Variety, and Tolerance, and against Exclusion and Extremism, Mayor Kufen joined participants at the food-filled event, advocating that there is no space for Hate and Vilification in Essen.
