Germany’s AfD party confirms Alice Weidel for chancellorship

The AfD announced the confirmation at the start of a two-day gathering in Riesa, in the eastern state of Saxony, which is one of its strongholds.

It is the first time in the party’s history that it is claiming a possible chancellorship by electing an official candidate for the role.

Polls show AfD in second place ahead of the election on 23 February, with about 20% support. AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla clearly formulated his party’s goals at the party conference in Riesa, saying “now we have to leave the 20 percent mark behind us and continue to climb.”

However, Weidel — who this week held a live chat with tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has endorsed the party, on his X platform — has no realistic chance of becoming Germany’s leader as other parties refuse to work with AfD.

Weidel has been one of the party’s most well-known faces for years. Her central theme is the alleged collapse of internal security as a result of immigration. She is an exception in the male-dominated AfD, being one of the few prominent women who is also openly in a relationship with a woman of Sri Lankan heritage.

Saturday’s conference made a slow start with more than an hour delay, as anti-AfD protesters blocked several access roads.

A heavy police presence was in place as thousands of demonstrators were expected. Officers partly broke up a sit-in blockade at a crossroads, and fireworks were thrown toward police on the sidelines of another protest, German news agency dpa reported.

CDU and SPD also launch campaigns

The mainstream conservative opposition Union bloc that leads polls with around 30% and its candidate, CDU-leader Friedrich Merz, is the favourite to become the next chancellor.

At the CDU party meeting in Hamburg, Merz called for “fundamental change” in German politics. “We are ready to take responsibility for our country, but we also know that things cannot continue as they have for the last three years,” he said.

Centre-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz is hoping for a come-from-behind victory, but there has been little sign of significant movement so far in polls that show support for his Social Democrats at 14-17%.

Both parties were also campaigning on Saturday. In his speech to SPD delegates, Scholz began with a comparison to Austria’s political situation, where President Alexander van der Bellen tasked right-wing FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl with attempting to form a government.

Scholz said Austria is on the verge of having an “extreme right-winger” as head of government, “even though 70 percent of Austrians voted for democratic parties.” “We are really at a crossroads in Germany,” he added.

Scholz leads a minority government after his unpopular and notoriously rancorous three-party coalition collapsed in November when he fired his finance minister in a dispute over how to revitalise Germany’s stagnant economy.

The election is being held seven months earlier than originally scheduled.