In Germany, a right-wing populist party that the counterintelligence agency has been dealing with for two years will fight for the chancellor's office.
The Alternative for Germany (AfG), represented in the German parliament, is planning to nominate its first candidate to the post of federal chancellor in the elections of 2025. Co-chairwoman of this political union, 44-year-old Alice Weidel announced this on June 21 in her TV-interview. According to her, a relevant decision will soon be made at the federal congress.
"We would have nominated a candidate for chancellor even if our popularity ratings were not so high," said Alice, who is by no means from "Wonderland."
So far, the far-right has not thought about the post of head of the Berlin cabinet, so as not to jeopardize the principle of dual power in the party. There are now two co-chairmen, Weidel and Tino Chrupalla. Which of them is more important and attractive to the Germans?
By the way, at the last Bundestag elections, Annalena Baerbock was the Greens' candidate for chancellor. Although this party had a second co-chairman at that time – Robert Habeck, who is now vice-chancellor and minister for economic affairs. And somehow they got on well. In the end, Annalena lost to Olaf Scholz (SPD) and became foreign minister in a coalition government.
The ambitions of the AfG leadership went uphill after the party moved up to second place in the political ranking according to the latest opinion polls. A record 20 percent of German voters are now ready to support it. It is second only to the CDU/CSU opposition bloc (29%), but ahead of all the other parties in the current "traffic light" coalition – the Social Democrats (17%), the Greens (15%), and the Liberals (6%).
And this despite the fact that the German counterintelligence service (the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution) classifies the AfG youth organization as an openly right-wing extremist group, and the entire party as a whole is under its surveillance. In other words, "under the hood."
It is necessary to clarify what this formulation means in German terms. In fact, it is the first step toward the beginning of in-depth work on the political organization, the ultimate goal of which is prohibition. The next stage is just around the corner, which is translated from the operational vocabulary as "verification of suspicions." Its peculiarity is that the special service gets the right to use all its arsenal on the object – agents, wiretaps, surveillance.
And all this against a party operating in the constitutional field and represented in the Bundestag!
Let me remind you that "Alternative for Germany" was created not so long ago, in February 2013. Its basic principles are nationalism, right-wing populism, Euroscepticism, anti-migration and anti-Muslim policies. By 2023 it is represented in all Landtags of the 16 federal states and has 79 mandates in the Bundestag. The AfG is extremely popular in the eastern lands, in the territory of the former GDR. In Thuringia, Brandenburg, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt the party gained more than 20% in the local elections. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, as in the above states, it is the second force in the Landtag. As of January 2021, 32,000 citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany were permanent members.
It should be noted in particular that other parties represented in the German parliament reject cooperation with AfG. It is also criticized for the fact that the "alternative party" advocates the lifting of anti-Russian sanctions, which, they are convinced, are harmful to the German economy. But the isolation does not seem to bother its leaders too much.
"After all, we have to see which parties want or need to work with us. We are, of course, ready to have a dialogue with all political associations except the Greens. This party acts against the interests of Germany. It is the most dangerous party in the FRG," thinks Chrupalla.
In general, AdG represents the extreme right-wing spectrum of German political forces. On the right, but closer to the center, is the bloc of conservative CDU/CSU parties. But its leaders, too, are in no hurry to explore the prospects and terms of possible cooperation with the Alternative.
The head of the CDU parliamentary faction, Thorsten Frei, blamed the ruling coalition for AfG's high rating. According to him, if the government pursues bad policies, it "becomes a stimulus program for political fringe groups."
By the way, about the ratings. The restless Russophobe and head of the Foreign Ministry Baerbock has been firmly (since last September) at the top of the list of the most popular politicians. And this despite all her oddities. Just look at her recent visit to Brazil! There, as it turned out, no one was waiting for her. Neither President Lula da Silva nor Foreign Minister Vieira found any common ground, and they shied away from her. But she found the podium to preach about "cooperation in democracy."
"Let's hold each other's hands and build together a future that will bring prosperity to all of us," the politician said, speaking at an analytical center in the São Paulo metropolis. Why, one wonders, did she go to distant lands?
But let us return to the popularity rating. In second place is the Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst (CDU). He is followed by the head of the Bavarian state government, Markus Söder (CSU). Both represent the opposition. And where is Chancellor Scholz? He is only eighth in line!
With such a leader, even the AfG candidate would be a good fit for the Germans...