German election: Parties wrap up campaigning

Some 250 people gathered at the home of Alternative for Germany (AfD) party leader Alice Weidel in a Swiss town.

Five people were temporarily detained in the authorized protest.

Responding to calls on social media, counter demonstrators also arrived at Weidel's home and confronted the protesters, leading to  provocations and scuffles, police reported.

Authorities described the atmosphere as heated and some people got involved in physical altercations. However, no injuries were reported and major disturbances were avoided, they said.

Chanting "Nazis Out" and holding placards with slogans like "1933 Never Again" - a reference to the year Adolf Hitler took power - opponents of the AfD's tough immigration stance and other policies marched through Einsiedeln to denounce the party.

Germany's political parties have been making their final pitches to voters before the national elections. Migration and violent crimes linked to migrants have been key issues.

Germany's CDU leader and frontrunner for chancellor Friedrich Merz held a final rally ahead of Sunday's elections, where he promised to be a "strong voice in the European Union."

"Europe must become stronger again and Germany must become more involved in the European Union," Merz told the rally of his CDU/CSU alliance.

"Every election is a pivotal election, a historic election," he added, highlighting the special "circumstances under which this election will take place tomorrow," to "what we are currently experiencing in the world" and what it could mean for the post-war order.

"None of us can be sure today that what we have had for 75 years will continue for the next 20 to 30 years, and that is why this election tomorrow is a pivotal election for Germany," the CDU leader said.

Merz told supporters that US President Donald Trump back, Europe must "sit at the main table and safeguard our interests vis-a-vis Russia and China."

Markus Söder, who leads the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), said his party would not form a government with the environmentalist Greens after the February 23 election.

The CSU is the smaller Bavarian sister party of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

"It's clear: No coalition with the Greens, dear friends," he said at a CDU/CSU campaign event in the Bavarian capital, Munich.

The CDU/CSU alliance is leading in the polls, but is unlikely to be able to rule alone. Its leaders have also ruled out entering into coalition with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is currently polling at second place.

Söder also praised CDU leader Friedrich Merz for passing a non-binding resolution on border policy late in January, saying that his party colleague had shown "character, a spine, and leadership ability." The move was criticized by other parties for relying on votes from AfD lawmakers.

Meanwhile, CSU secretary-general Martin Huber criticized the AfD.

"You're not an alternative," he said at the same campaign event in Munich, arguing the populist party would take Germany into the "abyss."

He said that only CDU/CSU would be able to fight "illegal immigration" and secure an upturn for the ailing German economy.

The populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) held its final election rally in Berlin ahead of this snap election. 

Its top candidates delivered fiery speeches railing against knife crime, immigration, and German support for Ukraine.

The rally was flanked by noisy counterprotesters, including around 100-150 antifa as well as civil groups shouting "everyone together against fascism."

Beatrix von Storch, a senior figure in the AfD, said the anti-AfD protesters were showing hate. 

"Look at our faces this is love," she said in English, "now look over there, that is hate."

Another speaker welcomed US President Donald Trump's critical tone toward Ukraine in recent days.

"The US has arrived where the AfD always was. Which is why need the AfD now in power in the German government."

The AfD is hoping to secure around 20% of the vote on Sunday, which would double its previous best result.

But the prospect of the party being in power is very low, as the other parties have sworn not to work with them. 

Incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for Germany to lower the minimum age required to be able to vote to 16.

"In many countries this is already the case, as also is the case in many municipal elections in Germany," Scholz said at a campaign event in the eastern town of Brandenburg an der Havel.

He said the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) was not "convinced" by the idea.

Lowering of the voting age in Germany would require a change to the constitution, known as the Basic Law.

In June 2024, German 16-year-olds could vote in elections to the EU parliament for the first time.

At the same campaign event on Saturday, Scholz expressed hope that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) would do worse than predicted in the February 23 election and called for other parties not to cooperate with it.

The AfD is currently polling at around 21% of the vote, meaning it could become the Bundestag's second-largest party.

Late last month, the CDU sparked controversy after it relied on votes from the AfD to pass a non-binding resolution on border policy. CDU leader Friedrich Merz has insisted that the country's "firewall" against the far right remains intact and ruled out cooperation with the AfD.

Incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he believed he would manage to secure his seat in the city of Potsdam, which lies just southwest of Berlin and is the capital of the eastern state of Brandenburg.

"I am sure that I can win the electoral district again, just like last time," Scholz said at a Potsdam campaign event, according to German news agency DPA.

He expressed a note of optimism despite the unpromising polls for his Social Democrats (SPD), saying: "I am convinced that this time many people will only make their decision at the ballot box."

The SPD emerged as the Bundestag's largest force in 2021 elections, receiving 25.7% of the vote, after which it formed a government in coalition with the environmentalist Greens and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP). In polls in the run up to this year's election, the SPD has been predicted to net between 14.5-16% of the vote.

Scholz is running against Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who aims to secure Potsdam for the Greens. The chancellor is currently polling ahead of his junior coalition partner in the electoral district.

Migration and the economy have been among the top issues in the campaign for Germany's Bundestag election, which is scheduled for Sunday.

Though the conservative CDU/CSU alliance is ahead in the polls, it is unlikely to be able to govern alone. It has ruled out cooperation with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has been polling at second place.

DW took a closer look at the implications of Germany's 23 February election.

Friedrich Merz, who leads the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), is the favorite to become next chancellor. His CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), have been polling at 28-32%.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is likely to see a surge in support and is polling at 20-21%. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left Social Democrats (SPD) could net around 14.5-16% of votes and his junior coalition partner, the environmentalist Greens, could receive between 12-14%, according to polls.

A number of smaller parties are also running in Sunday's election, with the socialist Left Party jumping up in recent polls to around 7.5-9% of the vote. The pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), which broke with Germany's ruling coalition in November, and the populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) have both been hovering around the 5% of votes required to enter parliament.

Chancellor candidates Friedrich Merz, of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and Olaf Scholz, of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), addressed rallies in the run-up to Sunday vote, pledging continued support to Ukraine and criticizing US President Donald Trump's remarks on the country's war with Russia.

Germany is entering its last day of campaigning ahead of parliamentary elections on Sunday. DW will be tracking the latest developments.

Among the most pressing issues for voters were immigration, the state of the German economy, foreign policy and climate change, according to an ARD-Deutschlandtrend poll from January.

German businesses have been sounding the alarm after two years of recession, demanding a complete overhaul fo economic policy.

On Friday, Interior Minister spokesperson Maximilian Kall warned of a Russian disinformation operation seeking to influence voters and help the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD).