German, Austrian extremists meet to discuss expulsion of 'non-assimilated' immigrants

Politicians from Germany's far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) on Wednesday (Jan 10) met with an Austrian extremist leader in order to discuss a mass deportation plan, the officials from the party confirmed.

However, they reportedly denied any plans to adopt a proposal for mass deportations of immigrants discussed at the talks.

Martin Sellner, the leader of the white pride Identitarian Movement in Austria, proposed a strategy to "reverse the inward migration of foreigners" and instead eliminate migrants and asylum seekers, investigative media outlet Correctiv reported citing undercover research.

He also, as per the reports, suggested that when the AfD came into power, the biggest "problem" for the party would be the expulsion of "non-assimilated citizens".

The meeting held in the vicinity of Potsdam, was attended by politicians, lawyers, and doctors, as per Correctiv.

Confirming his presence at the talks, Sellner told the news agency AFP, "It was the end of November and I presented my book and the Identitarian concept of remigration there".

The Austrian added that his "concept targeted migrants who are not assimilated, or who culturally, economically and criminally weigh on society".

The Identitarian movement adheres to the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, which posits that non-white immigrants are engaged in a conspiracy to replace Europe’s “native” white population, which the nationalist extremists seek to eliminate.

The AfD said Roland Hartwig, co-leader Alice Weidel's close aide, had put forward a social media project at the meeting.

However, the far-right said that Hartwig did not "bring Mr Sellner's ideas on migration policies" into the party, and added that it "would not change its immigration policies based on the individual ideas of a speaker at the meeting".

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One of the AfD participants, according to Correctiv, claimed that the party was no longer opposed to dual citizenship, as "you can then take away the German one, and they'd still have one".

Established in the year 2013, the AfD was created as a group opposing the euro, however, it later transformed into an anti-immigration party. In the year 2017, they achieved parliamentary representation for the first time, capitalising on public dissatisfaction with a significant influx of migrants, including those escaping conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

The party's backing dwindled to approximately 10 per cent during the 2021 election.

However, it has subsequently made a recovery amidst the challenges faced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition, including an energy crisis, significant inflation, and a struggling economy following Russia's war with Ukraine.

The ideology behind the plan discussed at the meeting took aim at "the foundations of our democracy", German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a post on X.

(With inputs from agencies)