PORTUGAL PERSPECTIVE

Lisbon, July 5, 2026. The federal congress of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) took place in Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia, despite an unprecedented surge of public mobilization. Between 20,000 and 31,000 people—according to local police figures reported by SAPO Notícias—converged on the city to attempt to block access to the Erfurt trade fair venue, where approximately 600 delegates of the far-right party gathered. Observador reported a figure of 25,000 protesters.

Protesters, assembled at the call of the "Widersetzen" platform—a German term meaning "Disobey"—along with unions, the Die Linke party, the Greens, and numerous other civic groups, employed various tactics: cutting off roads and highways, attempting to block tramway routes, with eight activists gluing themselves to the rails to obstruct circulation. In response, police deployed batons and pepper gas to disperse the protesters. Despite the intensity of the confrontations, no arrests had been reported in the initial hours of the gathering, according to Observador.

Unlike the AfD congress held in 2024 in Essen, in western Germany, which had been delayed by protests, delegates this time "reached the venue without major difficulties," according to Thuringia police quoted by Observador. Anticipation played a key role: many delegates chose to arrive at the site several hours before the official opening, scheduled for 10:00 a.m. (9:00 a.m. in Lisbon), to circumvent the human blockades called for as early as 5:30 a.m.

On the internal front, the AfD confirmed its cohesion: Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla were reelected to the co-presidency without any opposition. SAPO Notícias notes that the party, which leads German electoral polls, conducted a "symbolic" congress reflecting its entire trajectory since its founding, in a context of continuous advancement.

In advance of the event, Thuringia police had warned internally of the possible mobilization of 35,000 to 50,000 protesters, as well as the potential presence of approximately 2,500 far-left activists prepared to resort to confrontation, which had justified a massive security deployment. The convergence of unions, left-wing political formations, and civic movements around this congress illustrates the extent of concern that the AfD's advancement sparks in German society.