PEGIDA starting political party as authorities mull ban over extremism

Germany’s anti-Islamic, anti-immigrant PEGIDAmovement has announced that it is seeking a political party but stressed it would not seek to draw votes from populist far-right group AfD.

Germany’s anti-Islamic, anti-immigrant PEGIDAmovement has announced that it is seeking a political party but stressed it would not seek to draw votes from populist far-right group AfD.

Bachmann convicted and fined in May for inciting racial hatred, insisted he did not intend to stand for the leadership.

The move to form a party comes with authorities mulling a ban for the original association which spawned PEGIDAover fears of growing extremism.

The new grouping would be called the Popular Party for Freedom and Direct Democracy, or the FDDV by its German acronym, movement head Lutz Bachmann said at a meeting in Dresden, PEGIDA’seastern stronghold.