The News

Far-right cancels bid to shut Berlin’s Berghain techno club

BERLIN (AP) — A far-right party has withdrawn its proposal to close down one of Berlin’s most famous techno clubs after the plan drew widespread ridicule in the laissez-faire German capital.

Sibylle Schmidt, a district councilor for the Alternative for Germany party, had demanded that the Berghain club lose its license to operate over partygoers’ drug consumption and lascivious behavior on the dance floor.

Schmidt also complained about the club’s “unintelligent, ugly” bouncers and demanded “better lighting and staff to prevent sexual acts.”

Berghain’s weekend-long raves are particularly popular with foreign tourists.

Using the hashtag #berghain, Twitter users made fun of the proposal and compared Schmidt’s agenda to that of “hardcore Islamists.”

The German news agency dpa reported Thursday that Schmidt’s party has distanced itself from her proposal.