In Weidel's hometown

Right and left clash over AFD

Major riots at the anti-AfD protest in Alice Weidel's home town were prevented by the police.(Bild: EPA)

A demonstration under the name "Against the shift to the right" caused chaotic scenes in Einsiedeln, the Swiss home of AfD chancellor candidate Alice Weidel, on Saturday. Following calls on social media, counter-demonstrators soon turned up as well. There were "provocations and scuffles", the police reported. Several arrests were made. 

However, major riots were prevented, according to the police. The five people arrested had been carrying prohibited items or had not complied with police instructions, it added. They were reported to the police.

Hundreds of demonstrators on both sides
The police, who were deployed with a large contingent, spoke of around 250 participants in the demonstration against the right and several hundred counter-demonstrators. There was no sign that Alice Weidel was present. Weidel's Swiss wife lives in the village with the two children the couple are raising together. The AfD politician says she spends part of her time in the village. She also has a residence in Überlingen on Lake Constance, as she recently confirmed.

Einsiedeln, around 45 kilometers south of Zurich, has around 10,000 inhabitants. The town is famous for its more than 1000-year-old monastery, a Benedictine abbey. It is the most important place of pilgrimage in Switzerland.

Protest for a "world with diversity" - but also for the AfD
"We are fighting for a world with diversity and without fascism," said a speaker from "Bündnis gegen Rechts" at a rally. Weidel was pursuing a policy of social coldness. One poster read "Weidel out". The counter-demonstrators booed the participants and insulted them, as can be seen in videos. Some chanted shouts of support such as "AfD, AfD".

Open letter to Alice Weidel
Before the demonstration, there was already a letter campaign with criticism of Weidel, as the district clerk of Einsiedeln, Patrick Schönbächler, confirmed on request. An open letter had also arrived at the office. In it, Weidel was asked to leave the country - including a fake return flight ticket.

A similar campaign took place in Germany a few weeks ago: The flyers resembling flight tickets had caused outrage across the country in January. They were aimed at "illegal immigrants". The Baden-Württemberg branch of the AfD announced that it was an election campaign by the Karlsruhe district association. According to the left-wing party, the flyers appeared in the letterboxes of people with a migration background.