'Make Germany great again': Far-right party could see historic gains in this election. Here's why
Alternative for Germany appears to be headed for the strongest showing by a far-right party since World War II in Sunday's national election and is fielding its first candidate to lead the country. Other parties say they won't work with the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany, or AfD, and co-leader Alice Weidel has no realistic chance of taking the country's top job. But AfD has become a factor other politicians can't ignore and has helped shape Germany's debate on migration.
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It has also become prominent outside Germany. The party has won enthusiastic support from Elon Musk, as well as attention from US Vice President JD Vance and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
AfD first entered Germany's national parliament eight years ago on the back of discontent with the arrival of large numbers of migrants in the mid-2010s, and curbing migration remains its signature theme. But the party has proven adept at harnessing discontent with other issues, too: Germany's move away from fossil fuels, restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic and support for Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion nearly three years ago.
How did it start?
The party was founded in 2013 and initially focused on opposition to bailouts for struggling countries in the eurozone debt crisis — measures that then-Chancellor Angela Merkel described as «without alternative».
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