Hot off the press, the latest racket that interrupted my work this morning. I did wait outside for a while, but Mr Beckstein did not arrive at 11.30, nor indeed at 12.00 – I gave up, unlike other interested listeners:

But scarcely had I got back to my office when a loud voice could be heard, interrupted throughout by a chorus of booing, whistling and chanting:

I am not sure what organization this is (Nur die dümmsten Kälber wählen ihre Metzger selber):

Mr Beckstein said they should listen and use their brains rather than their voices. He then accused them of being SPD. After that, he said the SPD should distance itself from them. He said they should all be ashamed of themselves as young people who had no idea how much worse off they would be abroad. Then he added that he would say the same thing to the girls (‘Das gilt auch für die Mädchen’), thus giving the impression that he had only been addressing the male protesters till then. He then decided they were from Die Linke. I decided they could not be NPD, because they were the wrong colour, but they must be a militant organization of immigrants and immigrants’ children. They all had matching whistles, and there was a brochure headed Stoppt Beckstein!

I am not that fond of what he says about immigrants myself.

But I did enjoy the Frankenkapelle Erlangen playing Hang on Snoopy (and the Franconian national anthem – melody).

LATER NOTE: The local paper reports that the protesters were from Die Linke (the left-wing party). Herr Beckstein arrived 20 minutes too late to the first of four appointments, then went to the Kirchweih at Veitsbronn, which was a late change of plans, after that had to cut out the walkabout in Fürth town centre, and finally had to cut out part of another visit on account of problems with his voice (following having to shout in Fürth because of the hecklers).

EVEN LATER NOTE: The protesters were from the SDAJ, the Sozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterjugend, who have a picture of Lenin on their site.