The political group Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF), which consists of representatives of several populist and anti-immigration parties including Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the French National Front, is holding a convention in the western German city of Koblenz on Saturday.

The ENF is the smallest group in the European Parliament, with 40 members. However, some 1,000 participants are expected at the meeting.

Prominent European populist politicians, including AfD co-leader Frauke Petry, the National Front's leader and French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and the Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, are attending, along with Matteo Salvini, who head Italy's Northern League (LN).

Petry and Le Pen already met up on the eve of the convention in Mainz, some 98 kilometers southeast of Koblenz (61 miles), police said.

Last week, it emerged that a number of journalists have been banned from attending the convention, including representatives of some of Germany's most respected news outlets. The AfD frequently alleges that it receives inadequate coverage in the media.

DW's Kate Brady, however, is among the journalists to have received accreditation.

'Domino effect'

In her speech during what was her first public appearance in Germany, Le Pen said that "2016 was the year that the Anglo-Saxon world woke up," adding that Britain's vote last year to leave the European Union would have a "domino effect" across the bloc.

"I don't say every country has to leave the euro ... But we have to leave the possibility if a country wants to leave," she added.

Le Pen, whom many analysts see as likely to be one of two presidential candidates in a May runoff vote in France, has adopted an anti-EU stance as a major element in her campaign.

Wilders, for his part, hailed the advent of Donald Trump onto the world stage as newly inaugurated US president, saying: "Yesterday a free America, today Koblenz, tomorrow a new Europe."

Trump, who took office on Friday, has advocated a vehement "America first" nationalist stance.

The Dutch politician also scored with his audience by calling for Petry to become German chancellor instead of current leader Angela Merkel, whom populist parties regularly accuse of having harmed Europe and her country by allowing in hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants, many of them fleeing conflict and poverty in their native countries.

Currently, Petry would seem far from having the necessary voter backing to win the position, with Germany to hold general elections on September 24. Results of a poll released on Wednesday showed the AfD with just 11 percent support, having lost one percentage point since the previous week, as compared with Merkel's conservative CDU/CSU bloc with 38 percent and the SPD with 21 percent.

Demonstrations

Protests by opponents of the right-wing populist agenda are accompanying the conference, with police estimating crowd numbers at around 3,000. German Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader Sigmar Gabriel was among those protesting, with Greens co-chairwoman Simone Peter and Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn also scheduled to participate.

Ahead of the populist convention, SPD General Secretary Katharina Barley called for resistance to right-wing populism in Europe.

Gabriel is among the prominent figures at the protests

In an interview with the paper "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" published on Saturday, she warned that many people did not yet realize the seriousness of the situation, saying that the aggressiveness with which European nationalists were asserting themselves was "terrifying."

"These people think that each country should have only its own interests in view, even at someone else's expense," Barley said. "Such an ideology leads in the long run to wars."

The meeting in Koblenz served the right-wing populists as an opportunity "to organize their attack on our democracy and our freedom," she said, urging people to form a broad alliance against them.

Barley is also to take part in demonstrations against the meeting.

How radical is Europe's right? Frauke Petry, Alternative for Germany (AfD) The leader of the Alternative for Germany, Frauke Petry, said police could use guns as a last resort to prevent illegal border crossings, pointing out "that's the law." What began as a euroskeptic party has turned into an anti-establishment and anti-EU force, claiming up to 25 percent of votes in German state elections in March 2016 and taking second place in Chancellor Angela Merkel's home state.

How radical is Europe's right? Marine Le Pen, National Front (France) Many believe Brexit and Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential elections could give new impetus to France's National Front. Established in 1972 and now led by Marine Le Pen, who took over from her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, in 2011, the National Front is a nationalist party that uses populist rhetoric to promote its anti-immigration and anti-EU positions.

How radical is Europe's right? Geert Wilders, Party for Freedom (The Netherlands) The leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom, Geert Wilders, is one of Europe's most prominent right-wing politicians. He was convicted in December for asking a crowd in 2014 if they wanted more or fewer Moroccans in the country, but no penalty was imposed. His party is considered anti-EU and anti-Islam. It is leading polls ahead of next year's parliamentary elections and currently holds 15 seats.

How radical is Europe's right? Nikos Michaloliakos, Golden Dawn (Greece) Nikos Michaloliakos is the head of Greece's neo-fascist party Golden Dawn. He was arrested in September 2013 along with dozens of other party members and charged with forming a criminal organization. Michaloliakos was released in July 2015. Golden Dawn won 18 seats in parliamentary elections in September 2016. The party holds anti-immigrant views and favors a defense agreement with Russia.

How radical is Europe's right? Gabor Vona, Jobbik (Hungary) Hungary's anti-immigration, populist and economic protectionist party Jobbik aspires to be in the government by 2018. Now Hungary's third-largest party, it won 20 percent of votes in the last elections held in 2014. It wants a referendum on EU membership. Jobbik also advocates criminalizing "sexual deviancy," submitting a bill targeting homosexuals in 2012. Jobbik is headed by Gabor Vona.

How radical is Europe's right? Jimmie Akesson, Sweden Democrats After Trump's election, Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson said in an interview with Swedish TV: "There is a movement in both Europe and the United States where the establishment is being challenged. It is clearly happening here as well." The Sweden Democrats call for restricting immigration, are against allowing Turkey to join the EU and want a referendum on EU membership.

How radical is Europe's right? Norbert Hofer, Freedom Party (Austria) Norbert Hofer of Austria's nationalist Freedom Party lost the recent presidential runoff by a mere 30,000 votes, after being front-runner in the first round. Former Green party leader Alexander Van der Bellen won 50.3 percent of the vote, with Hofer gaining 49.7 percent. The Freedom Party's leader campaigns for the strengthening of the country's borders and limiting benefits for immigrants.

How radical is Europe's right? Marian Kotleba, People's Party - Our Slovakia The leader of the hard-right People's Party - Our Slovakia, Marian Kotleba, has said, "Even one immigrant is one too many." On another occasion, he called NATO a "criminal organization." This Slovak party favors leaving the EU as well as the eurozone. It won 8 percent of the vote in March 2016 elections, securing 14 seats in the country's 150-member parliament.



tj/rc (epd, dpa)