Germany's far-right AfD looks to capitalize on snap election

The Alternative for Germany party (AfD) is eager for things to proceed quickly, now that Germany's governing coalition has collapsed.

"Chancellor Scholz has long lost the trust of the German people and he must clear the way for a new election immediately," Alice Weidel, co-chair of the far-right AfD, put it after the government collapsed on Wednesday.

The AfD wants Chancellor Olaf Scholz to face a vote of no confidence next week, rather than wait until January. "He owes it to this country to step down as soon as possible," Weidel added.

Closing borders, ending aid to Ukraine

The AfD has fiercely attacked the governing coalition of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens and the neoliberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) since it was first took power at the end of December 2021.

It has criticized the coalition for failing on all policy levels, calling for a radical change, especially in migration and foreign policy. Similar to US President-elect Donald Trump, the party has campaigned hard against irregular migration and open borders.

And it vehemently opposes all arms shipments to Ukraine. In June, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a speech in the German parliament, the AfD parliamentary group decided to showcase their contempt for the guest by not attending the Bundestag session.

Now that the governing coalition has come to an end, the AfD is calling for an end to further arms shipments and financial aid to Ukraine. "I would also advise getting this done in the last few months before the next general election, because it will continue to ruin the budget of the federal government," said AfD co-chairman Tino Chrupalla.

AfD riding wave of anti-liberal sentiment

An early election could see the AfD make significant gains in the polls and thus have a greater influence in federal politics. In the last federal election in September 2021, the party secured 10% of the vote. The latest opinion polls put it at around 17%.

The party's platform seems well-suited for a quick election, and it would no doubt maintain its tough confrontational strategy. For years now, the party has been able to shape German politics by appealing to a number of grievances — especially on asylum and migration policy.

During a press conference on Thursday, Chrupalla laid out his party's list of demands. "We want an end to the integration of illegal migrants into the social system, the deportation of criminals who have already been ordered to leave the country, and we want to close the borders," he said.

In order to achieve its goals, the AfD is calling on the "mainstream parties" like the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU) and the FDP to work with them. "We call on the CDU/CSU and the FDP to finally accept their civic responsibility and to reach an agreement with us. After all, we represent millions of voters," said Weidel, in response to the end of the coalition.

The AfD is especially putting pressure on the center-right Christian Democrats to reverse its categorical refusal to work together. "We also want to finally see an end to this marginalization," said Chrupalla. "The citizens of Germany expect this country's problems to finally be solved, and this crisis to be resolved."

However, a coalition of AfD and CDU remains a very remote possibility, as the AfD has grown increasingly extreme.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, has been monitoring the party on account of its alignment with the extreme right.

AfD sees 'woke' Greens as main enemy

The AfD's favorite enemy is the Greens, whom it criticizes for climate and economic policies, but above all because of the party's cosmopolitan vision of society.

However, the AfD has also been extremely critical of the conservative Christian Democrats. For years, former CDU Chancellor Angela Merkel had been the target of the party's wrath on account of her migration policies in 2015. During this year's EU elections, the AfD's lead candidate, Maximilian Krah, named the CDU as his main opponent and called for its "destruction."

This radicalism was one of the reasons why CDU party chairman Friedrich Merz said in an interview with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland in August: "We can't work with this party. That would spell the end of the CDU."

It's still unclear what impact the AfD's numerous scandals will have on the federal election. In November, three AfD party members were arrested for allegedly supporting a suspected far-right terrorist group. The AfD now wants to expel them.

AfD has links to neo-Nazis, far-right networks

However, it appears there are already extensive links between party members and neo-Nazi and far-right networks. An AfD member of the Bavarian state parliament is also under investigation for right-wing agitation, and a former AfD member of the Bundestag is currently in custody for alleged involvement in the planning of a coup.

Due to the increasing radicalization of the AfD, a group of nonpartisan members of the Bundestag intends to file a motion in parliament to ban the AfD. If it receives the necessary majority, the Federal Constitutional Court would have to decide.

This article was originally written in German.

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