German voters head to the polls this month for an election that will determine who the country’s new chancellor will be. The Feb. 23 poll is a snap election, following the collapse of center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government last year.
The far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, founded in 2013, appears to be gathering strength and support across the country and has emerged as a factor in the election.
The party’s popularity has been fueled by dissatisfaction with the large numbers of immigrants in the country. While AfD has evolved to focus its attention on other issues, including the immediate lifting of sanctions against Russia, immigration remains its central theme.
Alice Weidel, AfD’s first candidate for chancellor, is a staunch supporter of so-called "remigration," a term used to describe the mass deportation of immigrants.
Political analysts say Weidel has little chance of becoming chancellor, but as AfD’s popularity has risen, it has forced politicians to rethink their conversations and debates about immigration.
AfD won its first parliamentary seats in 2017, with 12.6% of the votes. In 2021, the party had only 10.3% of the votes. It has supporters across the country and its politicians have been elected to 14 of Germany’s 16 state legislatures.
Its emergence as a political force occurs at the same time that other far-right parties are rising in Europe, including Austria's Freedom Party and the National Rally in France.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press.
