In upcoming state elections to be held on September 6, polls suggest the Alternative for Germany (AfD) could win an absolute majority in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Based on the far-right's cultural policy program, museums, theaters and cultural institutions in the region say that artistic freedom is one of the far-right party's targets.
The AfD has announced that artists and institutions would be required to sign a declaration pledging "not to hold in contempt Germany and its culture" if they want to obtain state funding. Many of these organizations and individuals heavily rely on these subsidies.
The AfD's interpretation of disrespect to German culture also ambiguously includes what the party calls "anti-German art."
Hans-Thomas Tillschneider is the cultural policy spokesperson for the AfD in Saxony-AnhaltImage: Heiko Rebsch/dpa/picture alliance"We declared in our government program that we no longer intend to spend public funds on promoting anti-German art," said Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, cultural policy spokesperson for the AfD parliamentary group in the state legislature, in a speech held in Saxony-Anhalt's parliament in late June.
