- Landbischof Bilz worried about the approval ratings for AfD
The Bishop of the Evangelical Church in Saxony, Tobias Bilz, is concerned about the high levels of support for the AfD. "The proportion of voters choosing the AfD and other far-right parties is a cause for concern and reflection," he told the "Freie Presse" (Friday).
Moreover, the Bishop defended the decision to only speak with candidates from CDU, SPD, FDP, and Greens at an event series of the Evangelical Academy Saxony ahead of the state election. He chose to engage in conversations with the political center within the democratic party spectrum. "Given the public's preference for discussing extreme positions, the practical work of these parties can easily be overlooked."
The conversations, he said, were about public exchange with individual personalities who also had the opportunity to present themselves publicly. "It does not seem appropriate to normalize a far-right party in this way."
Despite the growing popularity of the AfD in Dresden, the Bishop emphasized the importance of focusing on the work of more centered political parties. The AfD's far-right ideologies, he believed, should not be normalized through public engagement in activities such as the Evangelical Academy Saxony's event series.
