“Chop off your arm against the AfD”: Left-wing politician calls for violence during election campaign

“Will cutting off your arm help against the AfD?”: Juliane Nagel, a member of the Left Party’s state parliament, is using this question to campaign for the election. She probably wants to prevent strategic voting for the CDU.

Shortly before the election on September 1, the Saxon state parliament member Juliane Nagel (The Left) caused a stir with a call for violence against AfD voters. The direct candidate for the south of Leipzig presented the slogan: "Will chopping off your arm help against the AfD?", followed by the answer "... probably more than voting for the CDU." In addition, the sticker reads "Stopping fascists done right."

„Hilft Arm abhacken gegen die AfD?“

Aktuelle Wahlwerbung von Jule Nagel (Die Linke).https://t.co/pC9oArh6vY pic.twitter.com/LcHxPbeiwA

— 🅲🅾🆇🆇 (@queru_lant) August 22, 2024

In a blog post on Linkxxnet, a left-wing parliamentary and project office in Leipzig, Nagel writes: "Leave this - senseless - self-mutilation!" The Saxon CDU in particular is "THE shaky candidate" when it comes to cooperation with the AfD. "The Saxon CDU, which has been in power for over 30 years, with its authoritarian self-importance, is partly to blame for the rise of the AfD." The last local election result had shown that "at least three direct mandates in Leipzig are possible for the Left." Only a "strong left-wing force" in the state parliament could weaken the AfD and also deprive it of financial resources.

The election campaign is a last attempt by the Left to generate attention and turn things around. Current polls put the party at just three to four percent - well below the five percent hurdle needed to enter the state parliament.

Nagel could theoretically win one of the few possible direct mandates for the Left in Saxony. To do so, she has to prevail against the CDU. She already succeeded in doing so in the last state election in 2019.Her party is now betting everything on individual constituency victories in order to secure entry into the state parliament via the basic mandate clause. To do this, the Left needs at least two direct mandates.

In the state elections in Saxony on September 1st – which take place at the same time as the state elections in Thuringia – the AfD could become the strongest force. In polls it is on a par with the CDU, currently at up to 32 percent.

Source: Apollo News