Two security guards stand watch outside a small castle hosting a campaign event for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the ex-communist east, the party's heartland.

Around 30 voters have turned up, most of them elderly men, to learn about the health plans of the AfD, which mainly campaigns against immigration, multiculturalism and "woke" policies.

Beers are served with smoked sausages at the event in Schwedt near the Polish border, where the voters speak freely about their hopes and anxieties.