Alternative for Germany (AfD), a right-wing populist party, is on track for its best national electoral performance and is fielding its first-ever candidate for chancellor. Though unlikely to gain power soon, AfD has become a significant force in German politics, shaping the immigration debate and capitalizing on discontent with various issues.
Alternative for Germany (AfD), a right-wing populist party, is poised for its best national electoral result this month and is fielding its first-ever candidate for chancellor. While it is highly unlikely to gain a share of power soon, it has become a factor that other politicians cannot ignore and has helped shape the debate on immigration in Germany .
The party entered Germany's national parliament eight years ago, fueled by discontent over the arrival of large numbers of migrants in the mid-2010s. Reducing immigration remains its signature issue, but the party has shown an ability to capitalize on discontent with other issues: Germany's move away from fossil fuels, pandemic-related restrictions, and support for Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion nearly three years ago. Founded in 2013, AfD initially focused on opposing bailouts for eurozone crisis-stricken countries, measures then-chancellor Angela Merkel described as “unthinkable.” It was sometimes referred to as a “professor’s party,” referring to prominent figures from its early days, though it already had a strong leaning towards right-wing and anti-establishment identity. Over the years, AfD has become more radical and changed leaders repeatedly. Merkel's 2015 decision to allow a large influx of migrants gave it a significant boost as a political force, and in the 2017 national elections, it secured 12.6% of the vote, earning seats in the German parliament for the first time. After returning to parliament in 2021 with reduced support of 10.3%, AfD gained momentum as Chancellor Olaf Scholz's centre-left government struggled through a series of crises, some of its own making, and eventually collapsed. Germany experienced a wave of protests last year, triggered by a report that right-wing extremists met to discuss the deportation of millions of migrants, including some with German citizenship, and that AfD members were present. However, in the long run, this did not harm AfD at the polls. In June, it finished second in the European Parliament election, and in September, the best-known figure from its far-right wing, Björn Höcke, achieved the first victory of the far-right in a state election in post-war Germany. AfD is running in these elections with renewed confidence and radical language. Alice Weidel, its first candidate for chancellor, has adopted the term “relocation” while the party calls for mass deportations of people without legal right to reside in Germany, a politically charged word that emerged in last year's controversy. AfD demands the immediate lifting of sanctions against Russia and opposes the delivery of arms to Ukraine. It wants Germany to reintroduce a national currency and for the European Union to become a more loose “association of European nations,” though it does not explicitly advocate for leaving the 27-nation bloc. Germany's national intelligence agency has the party under observation for suspicion of right-wing extremism. AfD branches in three eastern states are designated as “groups confirmed of right-wing extremism.” AfD firmly opposes these labels and rejects any association with the Nazi past. Höcke has appealed two convictions for consciously using a Nazi slogan at a political event. AfD enjoys support across Germany and has representation in all but two of the 16 state parliaments, but the party is stronger in the east, a region with a communist past and less prosperous. It has a unique ability to exploit issues “that other parties don’t handle with this clarity, this intensity, this radicalism and this emotional tone,” said Wolfgang Schroeder, a professor of political science at the Center for Social Sciences in Berlin
ALTERNATIVE FOR GERMANY Afd ELECTION IMMIGRATION GERMANY EXTREMISM POLITICS
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