German Far-Right Drops EU Election Party Venue over 'Threats'

Far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) had plans for a European Parliament election night party upended Monday, saying it would pull out of the Berlin venue after "massive threats from left-wing terrorists" against the operator.

"Since the operator of the event space, her family, her neighbours and her employees were massively threatened by left-wing terrorists, (the AfD) was forced to cancel the contract for the election celebration at short notice," the party said in a statement.

The event had been primed to offer top leaders, including head of the AfD's EP list Joerg Meuthen and co-leader Alexander Gauland, a stage to comment on the EU-wide vote and regional elections in city-state Bremen scheduled for Sunday.

But at the weekend, the building was smeared with paint and employees received "innumerable" threats by phone, while a letter to the operator vowed "vengeance", the AfD said.

Berlin police told AFP that the party had reported telephone threats, but that "so far, no report of property damage" had been submitted.

AfD, the biggest opposition party in the federal Bundestag (lower house), has not completely cancelled its party, saying it will continue to search for an alternative location.

Polls suggest the group will garner around 12 percent of the vote in the European election, placing it fourth.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives are expected to score around 30 percent, the Greens around 19 and the centre-left social democrats  17 percent.