BERLIN • From anger over lockdown measures to a purported vaccine plan by Mr Bill Gates: a growing wave of demonstrations in Germany by conspiracy theorists, extremists and anti-vaxxers has alarmed even Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Initially starting as a handful of protesters decrying tough restrictions on public life to halt transmission of the coronavirus, the protests have swelled in recent weeks to gatherings of thousands in major German cities.
Thousands of Germans across the country took to the streets yesterday, with the police out in force after some earlier protests turned violent.
Derided on social media as "covidiots" who risk causing a second wave of infections that could lead to a tightening of restrictions, protesters staged demonstrations at several locations across Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg.
In Stuttgart, where some protesters had been flouting social distancing rules and not wearing face masks on May 9, police expected another rally of up to 5,000 people.
In Munich, organisers asked the authorities to give the green light for a rally of up to 10,000 people on the Theresienwiese, a large square in the city centre where Munich normally stages its world famous Oktoberfest beer festival.
But city officials pointed to the need to respect social distancing rules and allowed a demonstration of up to 1,000 people.
The coronavirus has so far infected more than 175,000 people in Germany and killed about 8,000.
The growing demonstrations have sparked comparison with the anti-Muslim Pegida marches at the height of Europe's refugee crisis in 2015, raising questions over whether the strong support that Dr Merkel is currently enjoying due to her handling of the virus crisis could evaporate.
A recent poll commissioned by the Spiegel news magazine found that almost one in four Germans surveyed voiced "understanding" for the demonstrations.
The development has shocked the political establishment, with Dr Merkel reportedly telling top brass of her centre-right CDU party of the "worrying" trend that may bear some hallmarks of Russia's disinformation campaigns.
Germany in March took unprecedented measures to shut down public life. While a huge majority of Germans backed the action, giving Dr Merkel's government a big boost in approval ratings, dissent is fomenting, particularly online where YouTube videos championing conspiracy theories or quack medical advice are attracting tens of thousands of views.
Meanwhile, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is working on an aid package worth €57 billion (S$88 billion) to help municipalities cope with a plunge in tax revenues, a Finance Ministry document showed yesterday.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
