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CULTURE

Berlinale: Germany’s far-right AfD uninvited from film festival opening

The revelation that AfD politicians had been invited to Berlinale’s opening sparked international criticism. Now the film festival leadership has disinvited the party representatives.

Published: 9 February 2024 10:36 CET
Updated: 9 February 2024 14:04 CET
Berlinale management on stage
Berlinale Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian and Executive Director Mariette Rissenbeek ahead of the 74th International Berlinale film festival. Photo: MICHELE TANTUSSI / AFP

According to Berlinale, five politicians from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party are no longer invited to the event’s opening gala on February 15th.

Defending its position, Berlinale put out a statement saying the AfD and many of its members have views that deeply contradict the basic values of democracy. 

“We have therefore disinvited all previously invited AfD politicians in writing today and informed them that they are not welcome at the Berlinale,” said the management duo Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian in a statement.

Speaking to journalists on Friday, AfD parliamentary group leader Kristin Brinker slammed the decision as a “cultural-political warning”. 

“With its decision, the Berlinale is bowing to the public pressure built up by cultural-political activists over the past few days,” she said, adding that the decision was not just an exclusion of AfD politicians but also an exclusion of their supporters. 

“They are excluding people who are at odds with the prevailing conditions and are turning to us, the AfD, in the hope of revitalising democracy,” Brinker said. 

The inclusion of AfD members was less controversial in previous years, but this year’s Berlinale comes after massive protests against the AfD and right-wing extremism swept Germany.

An estimated 150,000 protestors rallied against the AfD in Berlin on February 3rd as part of series of demonstrations that were sparked by a “Correctiv” investigation which exposed a plan discussed by AfD members to deport immigrants from Germany.

READ ALSO: Could the far-right AfD ever take power in Germany?

Why were alt-right leaders invited to the international film festival?

Normally Berlinale delivers a quota of invitations to both the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Berlin Senate, which are then distributed to democratically elected members of all parties in the Bundestag and Bundesrat.

It was through this process that AfD members received their invites.

Berlinale has emphasised that the discussion on how to deal with AfD politicians affects many German organisations and festivals. 

“This debate must be conducted by society as a whole and together with all democratic parties,” said a statement by Berlinale.

READ ALSO: Berlinale – Diversity and Nazi past in spotlight at 70th Berlin film festival

According to Minister of State for Culture, Claudia Roth, this debate could also happen at a Berlinale opening.

A representative for Roth told DPA: “It is up to the Berlinale management to make the final decision on who they invite to the opening and who they don’t, and we respect this decision.”

But she added: “It is understandable that filmmakers from Germany, Europe and the world are campaigning for racists and enemies of democracy to have no place at the Berlinale.”

AfD Parliamentary group leader, Kristin Brinker, will comment on the disinvitation in the Bundesrat on Friday.

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POLITICS

European elections: The 5 numbers you need to understand the EU

Here are five key figures about the European Union, which elects its new lawmakers from June 6-9:

Published: 9 May 2024 09:22 CEST
European elections: The 5 numbers you need to understand the EU

4.2 million square kilometres

The 27-nation bloc stretches from the chilly Arctic in the north to the rather warmer Mediterranean in the south, and from the Atlantic in the west to the Black Sea in the east.

It is smaller than Russia’s 17 million square kilometres (6.6 million square miles) and the United States’ 9.8 million km2, but bigger than India’s 3.3 million km2.

The biggest country in the bloc is France at 633,866 km2 and the smallest is Malta, a Mediterranean island of 313 km2.

448.4 million people

On January 1, 2023, the bloc was home to 448.4 million people.

The most populous country, Germany, has 84.3 million, while the least populous, Malta, has 542,000 people.

The EU is more populous than the United States with its 333 million but three times less populous than China and India, with 1.4 billion each.

24 languages and counting

The bloc has 24 official languages.

That makes hard work for the parliament’s army of 660 translators and interpreters, who have 552 language combinations to deal with.

Around 60 other regional and minority languages, like Breton, Sami and Welsh, are spoken across the bloc but EU laws only have to be written in official languages.

20 euro members

Only 20 of the EU’s 27 members use the euro single currency, which has been in use since 2002.

Denmark was allowed keep its krona but Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden are all expected to join the euro when their economies are ready.

The shared currency has highlight the disparity in prices across the bloc — Finland had the highest prices for alcoholic beverages, 113 percent above the EU average in 2022, while Ireland was the most expensive for tobacco, 161 above the EU average.

And while Germany produced the cheapest ice cream at 1.5 per litre, in Austria a scoop cost on average seven euros per litre.

100,000 pages of EU law

The EU’s body of law, which all member states are compelled to apply, stretches to 100,000 pages and covers around 17,000 pieces of legislation.

It includes EU treaties, legislation and court rulings on everything from greenhouse gases to parental leave and treaties with other countries like Canada and China.

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