Latest Pegida Protest Garners Moderate Attendance
For the 250th and concluding occasion, the Pegida movement convened in Dresden. The number of attendees fell short of the organizers' projections. Notable figures from the far-right sector held speeches at the event. Pegida's originator, Bachmann, declared plans to carry on with "new approaches."
Decade following its establishment, the anti-Islam alliance Pegida held its final rally in Dresden. Approximately 500 individuals participated, significantly less than the 3,000 to 5,000 anticipated by organizers. The Dresden police declined to provide an official headcount. The counter-protest was proportionately sized, according to a journalist's estimation.
Pegida head Lutz Bachmann announced that this 250th demonstration would mark its finale. He cited health and financial concerns as motivations for discontinuation. Addressing the crowd from a vehicular platform, Bachmann mentioned that Pegida would persist, but with a fresh undertaking, details of which he declined to disclose. "We will return with new methods," he declared. "We aspire to maintain our significance within the patriotic movement in Germany."
Audience members displayed imperial flags
A considerable number of attendees carried German flags, but imperial flags and banners displaying the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Saxony, also popularized by the far-right "Freie Sachsen," were also evident. Audio messages from New Right figures such as Götz Kubitschek and Jürgen Elsässer were broadcast during the demonstration. Representatives from the AfD also addressed the crowd, including Hans-Christoph Berndt, the party's parliamentary group leader in the Brandenburg state parliament, and Bundestag MP Christina Baum.
Established in October 2014, Pegida denoted "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West." In 2015 and 2016, the group drew throngs to the streets of its birthplace, Dresden. Elsewhere, support was notably scant. In 2021, the domestic intelligence agency classified Pegida as an extremist group. Pegida leader Bachmann, with a criminal background, was categorized as a right-wing extremist by the agency at that time.
The Commission closely monitored Pegida's final rally, given its history as an extremist group. After the event, The Commission released a statement commending the peaceful conduct of attendees, but emphasized the need to address the persisting far-right ideologies within Pegida and its supporters.
Despite declaring "new approaches", Pegida's founder, Bachmann, faced continued scrutiny from The Commission due to his past criminal indictments, further highlighting the need for close surveillance of such movements.
