Key Points
- Germany is holding a national election on Sunday 23 February.
- Germany's mainstream political parties have lost support while the far-right AfD gained ground in one of the last polls published before the election.
- With all parties refusing to work with the AfD, the poll suggests it will be near impossible for any two of the other parties to form a majority.
On a freezing cold evening days out from Germany's election, a few dozen Alternative für Deutschland. (AfD) supporters have gathered in the Dippoldiswalde marketplace, trying not to slip on the icy cobblestones.
Some look around nervously. Rallies often attract counter-demonstrations, so the party announces the time and location of events at short notice, to reduce the time protesters have to mobilise.
This time, it has worked.
Local AfD candidate Steffen Janich's smiling face adorns posters on a makeshift stage.
He'll almost certainly be re-elected, probably by a larger margin than last time.
AfD candidate Steffen Janich told SBS News his party's immigration policies are similar to Australia's. Source: SBS News / Ben Lewis
But his party's plan for mass deportations, dubbed 're-migration', generates some of the largest cheers.
Janich bristles when asked if the policy can be considered 'extremist'.
"On immigration, we have the same politics as Australia," he says.
"I think you have a very restrictive immigration policy too."
'I don't see any alternative'
Watching Janich speak is 23-year-old Jacob.
The AfD has put significant resources into targeting young men who feel left behind in Germany's sluggish economy.
"We are the generation who have to keep this country alive, like our parents do now, and with the other parties I don't see any alternative," Jacob explains.
Jacob says he doesn't see any alternative to voting for AfD in Germany's election. Source: SBS News / Ben Lewis
Asked what she thinks when the AfD is described as 'extremist' and 'racist' she said: "Now comes the standard line, I have not seen any Nazis yet,".
"If people like me, having common sense thinking, are wrong, then I'm a Nazi too. What else can I say, it's total crap."
Katarina says it's "total crap" to call the AfD extremists. Source: SBS News / Ben Lewis
Some senior AfD members have gone further in their comments and were present at discussions among far-right activists about deporting millions of people of foreign origin, including German citizens.
Grannies Against the Right
Some of the loudest voices against the AfD are those who lived through Germany's darkest moments.
In a busy marketplace, a group of older women hands out biscuits and badges to passers-by.
They call themselves 'Omas Gegen Rechts' (Grannies Against the Right).
Grannies Against the Right demonstrated against right-wing extremism at the Domshof in Germany's Bremen earlier this month. Source: DPA / picture alliance/dpa/picture alliance via Getty I
"My family lived under Hitler and I was born in 1945," she explains.
"All the time I said no I'm too old, I'll not do anything about this, but now I have the feeling I have to before the world goes down. Everywhere the fascists come up once more."
Tamanna Heyken is part of the Grannnies Against the Right group campaigning against the rise of support for far-right policies in Germany. Source: SBS News / Ben Lewis
They're constantly challenged by people walking past.
"You always talk about Nazis and Hitler," yells one man.
"I don't know why, I didn't live in that time!"
If the polls are correct, the AfD could get around 20 per cent of the national vote, possibly making them the second-largest party in the Bundestag.
They won't be part of the next government, as all major parties have ruled out inviting them into a coalition, the 'firewall' that has kept the extreme right out of government since World War Two.
But the AfD will have more influence than ever before and its leader, Alice Weidel, will become an even more prominent voice in German politics.
It has already forced the conservative CDU further to the right.
And that worries many younger voters, the majority of whom remain against the AfD.
Luk and Louis are casting their first votes in Germany's election. Source: SBS News / Ben Lewis
'Populism is a real problem'
Luk and Louis are both casting ballots for the first time.
Concerned about climate change, they're supporting parties on the left.
But they understand how the AfD, with its slick TikTok videos and promises of radical change has broken through.
"It's a party that's not giving solutions, only shouting about problems," says Luk. "Populism is a real problem. I hope it's not getting out of hand."
"When I look at social media, I see how the AfD works, how easy it is to convince young people that the problems are easily solvable," adds Louis.
"It's easier to believe in that than to face these problems."
The AfD is strongest in the former East Germany, where many feel they have not reaped the benefits of reunification as much as those in the West.
The party is holding a 'winter festival' for its supporters in the city of Cottbus, near the Polish border.
A singer performs an off-key version of a popular far-right song, which mocks Antifa protestors. Everyone seems to know the words. There's beer, bratwurst and big hopes for the future.
"I believe that Alice Weidel will be Chancellor but not in this election," says 61-year old Lutz Schmidt.
"We have to do a cleansing to clean up the political swamp. It can not go on like this."
Yet just around the corner, a reminder that the vast majority of Germans still don't support the AfD.
A larger crowd is gathering at a peaceful counter-protest.
"The far-right swamp is not the majority," says 43-year-old Anne, who says she only became involved in politics after watching the rise of the AfD.
"There are enough people standing up for democracy and diversity, including me."
