ERFURT
Around 15,000 angry demonstrators blocked highways and roads to disrupt the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party’s annual conference. Riot police stood guard as unions and left-wing groups protested the far-right faction’s aggressive anti-immigration policies. Inside, defiant party chiefs Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla were re-elected, mocking the crowds outside. Leading national opinion polls at 29%, the surging AfD expects to win upcoming eastern state elections this September. Mainstream rivals have vowed to isolate the radical group, but confident leaders declared that taking national power is now their ultimate and inevitable goal.