AfD stand in Sonneberg: tensions at the democratic test!

AfD stand in Sonneberg: tensions at the democratic test!

On June 23, 2025, the AfD set up its information stand in Sonneberg, in the immediate vicinity of the democratic test, which attracted attention and many visitors. The stand was announced three days before the event in social networks, which led to an intensive observation and reactions by the festival visitors. On this day, the AfD remained with its stand and the participants of the democratic festival at its locations, which resulted in a clear separation between the two groups. Roland Schliewe, the AfD parliamentary group leader in the Sonneberg city council and district council, was on site to observe the events in neutral clothing.

In an incident that caused excitement, Schliewe reported that he was pushed by an unknown person. A similar experience also described Paul Orlowski from "Die Party" from Lauscha, who stated that he also experienced harassment that day. In addition, Andre Baack, the AfD boss from Steinach, was present at the church, wore blue clothes, but did not want to trigger a provocation.

Investigations set

Another facet of the political debate in Thuringia concerns Roland Schliewe, whose statements came into the focus of the Meininger public prosecutor's investigation for a while. These have now been discontinued without the fact of fulfilling sedition. A spokesman for the public prosecutor confirmed this information to the newspaper "Free Word". The background to the investigation was Schliewe's controversial statements at a district meeting in February, in which he criticized that people from the Maghreb countries or the Sahel zone should not take over overwhelming work, based on his strongly generalizing assessments about their IQ.

The discussionary statements about the levels of education and origin led to allegations of discrimination and racism, which Schliewe decidedly rejected. He only admitted that he should have talked confidently about education instead of concentrating on IQ values.

discourse strategies of the extreme rights

These incidents open a larger topic that can be observed in both Sonneberg and throughout Germany: dealing with migration and the discourse strategies of extreme right groups. The AfD uses migration not only as a central topic of its political strategy, but also as a "funnel" to link other social issues. These discourses are of great importance for the social self -image and the political negotiation.

In a time when migration is strongly embedded in public discourse, extreme right actors pursue the goal of moving their narratives and establishing their perspectives. According to a report by the Federal Center for Political Education, such discursive interventions reflect on individual and social views and are crucial for the cultural hegemony. Here it is pointed out that radicalization and the takeover of extremist positions can also lead to the political capital of extreme rights.

The AfD is not only symbolically on the edge of the political landscape, but also has a lasting effect on the political climate in Germany through targeted discourse strategies. As the events in Sonneberg show, the boundaries between political opinions are often fluid, and the debate about terms, identities and belonging remains exciting and conflicting.