The cruise industry criticizes AfD's expulsion schedule.
"Beautiful Deportation Ships" is the title chosen by the AfD city council faction in Senftenberg for their calendar, which showcases slogans promoting deportations. The businesses represented by these ship images react immediately to this "offensive method" and initiate legal proceedings.
Notable cruise line companies are starting legal actions against the calendar of the AfD city council group from the small town of Senftenberg in south-Brandenburg. This calendar, titled "Beautiful Deportation Ships," includes images of cruise ships, some easily recognizable due to their company logos. Slogans like "Right to the homeland. We also bring them back" and "Cruise trip yes, but without a return ticket" are overlaid over the images of these cruise ships.
Georg Ehrmann, the Managing Director of the International Association of Cruise Lines (CLIA), in Hamburg, stated that the AfD has been asked to cease and desist. If the calendar is not withdrawn, a request for a preliminary injunction will follow. "Each company is suing the AfD independently to convey a clear message that they won't let this racist and repulsive approach slide," said Ehrmann. "Damage assessments are also being conducted."
The cruise shipping companies have clearly distanced themselves from the AfD's phrases. Carnival Cruise Line responded to RBB, "We are shocked that images of our ships, where people of different origins and cultures enjoy peaceful vacations and work, have been utilized for the racist speech of the AfD." CLIA Germany's Managing Director, Ehrmann, told the broadcaster, "Cruise transport represents values such as openness and tolerance. We have people from diverse nationalities on our ships."
A video from an AfD local politician, dated January of this year, can be seen on the Facebook page of the AfD Oberspreewald-Lausitz, where the calendar is promoted. Previously, AfD politicians from Baden-Wuerttemberg had already distributed a "deportation calendar" with airplanes.
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The criticism towards AfD's policies extends beyond the cruise industry, as Georg Ehrmann, the Manager of CLIA, also requests them to cease using racist language. This happens after the AfD city council faction in Senftenberg uses the term 'Deportation Ships' to promote their controversial calendar.
Despite the AfD's history of promoting problematic calendars, such as a "deportation calendar" with airplanes in Baden-Wuerttemberg, the use of cruise ships in their latest calendar has sparked a strong backlash from the shipping industry, who vehemently denounce the racist undertones.
