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The
AfD did not deny that two of its senior politicians attended the
November meeting in a villa near Berlin, where far-right
influencer Martin Sellner outlined plans for the "remigration"
of "unassimilated" people with German citizenship out of the
country, but said the plans were not party policy.
News of the meeting drew outrage, with critics drawing
comparisons between proposals at the meeting for people to be
deported to a "model state in north Africa" and the Nazis'
initial plan to deport European Jews to Madagascar before they
settled on mass murder instead.
"We protect all, regardless of origin, skin color or how
uncomfortable someone is for fanatics with assimilation
fantasies," Scholz wrote on social media platform X on Thursday.
"Learning from history is about more than just lip service.
Democrats must stand together."
The AfD is soaring in polls ahead of regional and European
elections this year, buoyed by severely constrained public
finances and state services burdened by rising immigration.
In response, all parties have pledged to crack down on illegal
immigration, an approach that has only given more visibility to
the AfD's signature policy.
Far from being embarrassed by the meeting, Maximilian Krah, the
party's lead candidate for November's European Parliament
elections, doubled down on the party's pledge to deport illegal
immigrants.
"In 2022, 2.7 million people migrated to Germany," he wrote on
X. "That is destroying our country! Only the AfD will stop this
and arrange their return."
(Editing by Nick Macfie)
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