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Germany's AfD says arms production could aid deportation drive in Saxony-Anhalt
Reuters • • world
Key Points:
- Ulrich Siegmund, likely leader of Saxony-Anhalt's far-right AfD party, suggested allowing a weapons producer in the state to support the party's planned deportation campaigns and internal security efforts.
- The AfD opposes Germany's defense spending and military aid to Ukraine, raising concerns about a planned defense industry investment in Sangerhausen by Israel's Elbit Systems.
- Elbit Systems is reportedly considering building a plant in Sangerhausen to manufacture components but not complete weapons systems, potentially creating up to 400 jobs, though no final location has been chosen.
- The AfD, which won a near-majority in Saxony-Anhalt, has pledged immediate deportations, citizen patrols, and separate classrooms for refugee children, while monitoring the defense project for risks of foreign conflict involvement.
- Cooperation talks between the AfD and the left-wing populist BSW could be complicated by the defense project, as BSW opposes military support for Ukraine and the Sangerhausen investment.
