The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Saturday nominated co-leader Alice Widel as the first chancellor candidate in the party’s 11-year history, setting up its bid for power ahead of snap elections in February.
The party is unlikely to be part of a governing coalition anytime soon, as other parties have refused to work with it, despite coming second in the polls behind the main opposition Conservatives.
But a string of state election successes by the AfD is increasing pressure on conservatives in particular to drop their firewalls in the party and consider a right-wing coalition, especially given the weakness of their old traditional partner, the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP). .
“We are the second strongest power in the national elections and from this we derive our claim to rule, because we want to do better, we want to bring Germany forward again, we want to be on top of the world again.” Weidel told reporters from a stage in Berlin draped with two large German flags.
“Voters clearly want a coalition of conservatives and AfD,” she said.
Far-right parties have gained traction across Europe in recent years, also coming to power in Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands and Finland.
Nominating a candidate could allow the AfD to increase its media presence by participating in campaign debates, said Hans Vorlander, a political scientist at the Technical University of Dresden.
Long dismissed as an opposition party, the AfD is also trying to establish itself as a “normal party,” said Stefan Marshall, a political scientist at the University of Düsseldorf.
Weidel, 45, who has co-led the party since 2022, is a potential public face for the male-dominated, anti-immigration party that portrays itself as a defender of traditional family values and ordinary German working people.
Tapping into voters’ concerns
He has two sons with a Sri Lankan-born Swiss woman who has a PhD in economics in China and speaks Mandarin. Before entering politics, she worked for Goldman Sachs and Allianz Global Investors and as an independent business consultant.
However, Wiedel’s unusual profile has made her an asset to the AfD, with political analysts saying she could have greater appeal among more moderate Germans who typically shun the far-right party.
In recent years, the AfD has tapped into voter anxieties about high levels of immigration, a potential escalation of the Ukraine war and the crisis in Germany’s economic model, as well as frustrations over the interdependence of the ruling coalition, which fell apart last month.
“Germany is in the worst crisis of its history,” Weidel said, promising a turnaround with the AfD.
The party wants to sharply curb immigration, particularly from Muslim countries, roll back nuclear power plants, exit the European Union — unless major reforms are made — and end arms deliveries to Ukraine.
Although officials suspect it of pursuing anti-democratic goals, the AfD has gained credibility with some voters for openly addressing hot-button issues before mainstream parties.
The party came first in two state elections in September, despite anti-AfD protests and a string of scandals that included a senior figure declaring that the SS, the Nazis’ main paramilitary force, was “not all criminals”.
A poll published by pollster Wahlen on Friday put the AfD on 17%, followed by the Conservatives on 33%, but ahead of the SPD on 15% and the Greens on 14%. The Conservatives, SPD and Greens all have Chancellor candidates.
AfD membership has grown 50% to about 50,600 in the past year, a party spokesman said, although that number represents a fraction (some 14%) of the membership of Germany’s largest parties, the CDU/CSU conservative bloc and the SPD.