German police investigate AfD mock plane ticket campaign
January 15, 2025
Police in Germany have launched a criminal investigation after about 30,000 fake "deportation" airplane tickets were distributed in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe by the local branch of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
The flyers, which are designed to resemble classic airplane boarding passes, advertise a one-way flight from "Germany" to a "safe country of origin" for a passenger by the name of "illegal immigrant" on February 23, the date of the German federal election.
A spokesperson for the AfD in Karlsruhe confirmed the initiative was part of the party's local election campaign and said the flyers were being distributed to all eligible voters.
Far-right AfD 'showing its true colors,' Left Party says
Politicians from the local branch of Germany's Left Party said they had been found in the mailboxes of Karlsruhe residents with migration backgrounds. Left Party officials said they would press charges for incitement to hatred.
Sahra Mirow, regional Left Party chair for the state of Baden-Württemberg, where Karlsruhe is located, said the AfD was "showing its true colors" with the flyer campaign. "They are dividing our society and spreading hate," she added.
The mayor of Karlsruhe, Frank Mentrup of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), also said the AfD had crossed a red line, telling local public broadcaster SWR that finding "such notes in the mailbox reinforces a feeling of insecurity and fear."
In Berlin on Wednesday, a federal government spokesperson called the campaign "tasteless" but said any investigations were the responsibility of the relevant authorities.
AfD 'remigration' tickets
The "tickets," which are also downloadable from the AfD Karlsruhe's official website, featured slogans such as "It's nice at home, too" and "Only remigration can save Germany."
"Remigration" is a far-right concept popular in European ethno-nationalist circles that refers to the forced or encouraged deportation of immigrants — and even the descendants of immigrants who may have been born in Europe but aren't deemed by far-right groups to be "ethnically" European — to the home countries of their ancestors.
The concept was a topic of discussion presented by Austrian identitarian Martin Sellner at a secret meeting of right-wing extremists in Potsdam, near Berlin, in November 2023, attended by members of the AfD. News of the meeting set off nationwide protests against the far right and saw some moderate losses in support for the AfD — losses which the party has already largely made up.
German government says immigrants vital for economy
"The fact that the AfD apparently wants to expel people en masse under the term 'remigration' shows not only its contempt for humanity, but also how much it would damage Germany as a business location and cost jobs," Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told the Rheinische Post newspaper on Wednesday.
She noted that almost 25 million people in Germany — around 30% of the population — have a migration background.
"[Immigrants] have been an integral part of our society for a long time and keep our country running in many areas — in hospitals and care homes, in businesses and industry. What these people do deserves more respect," said Faeser, a member of the SPD.
Net migration to Germany down
Meanwhile, the latest report from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) said net migration to Germany fell by nearly 55% in 2023, while asylum applications in 2024 were down just over 30% compared to 2023.
The number of irregular crossings of the European Union's outer borders also fell significantly in 2024, according to the bloc's border control agency Frontex.
Nevertheless, the AfD remains second in the polls ahead of February's election, behind the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU).
However, the AfD's Alice Weidel stands little chance of becoming chancellor or even entering government since no democratic party has said it would be willing to form a coalition with the AfD. Three of the party's regional branches, though not the one in Baden-Württemberg, have been classified as “right-wing extremist” by the domestic intelligence agency.
mf/sms (AP, dpa)