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An out-of-focus German flag in the background and blue AfD signs in focus in the foreground
Image: Hannes P Albert/dpa/picture alliance

Alternative for Germany (AfD)

Germany's far-right populist AfD party has a strong anti-immigration focus. Classified as a "suspected" far-right extremist organization, it is topping opinion polls in several eastern German states.

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All Content on this topic

Three wind turbines against a mountain backdrop in the morning mist

Does Germany need wind power?

Some politicians in Germany want a return to nuclear power, but the wind sector is on track to make significant gains.
Nature and EnvironmentJanuary 22, 2025
Donald Trump (left) and Olaf Scholz (right)

Donald Trump shakes up German politics

Leading German politicians fear the worst from Trump's second presidency. Only the far-right AfD is delighted.
PoliticsJanuary 21, 2025
Screens show Left Party branding at the party convention in Berlin

Left Party gains confidence as German election nears

With rising poll numbers and renewed purpose, the socialist Left Party presented a united front at its convention.
PoliticsJanuary 19, 2025
A German flag and a US flag next to each other

How German politicians are taking Trump's return

Germany is gearing up for its own elections. How do the country's politicians see Trump's return?
PoliticsJanuary 18, 202503:10 min
DW Merkel’s last dance Teaser | Podcast

DW Berlin Briefing: A new podcast by the crew behind 'Merkel's Last Dance'

Berlin Briefing is a new podcast by the crew behind ‘Merkel’s last Dance’. It is a video podcast where we dive deep into how Germany is navigating major geopolitical challenges - from Trump's second presidency to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and Europe’s shift to the right. Once a week we give you an essential Berlin briefing on what’s coming next and why it matters. here's our latest episode.
PoliticsJanuary 17, 202537:36 min
Teaser Berlin Briefing NEU

German election promises in a nutshell

Ahead of Germany's elections, DW's political team discuss the big issues dominating the campaign.
PoliticsJanuary 17, 202536:53 min
Teaser Berlin Briefing NEU

German election promises in a nutshell

Ahead of Germany's elections, DW's political team discuss the big issues dominating the campaign.
PoliticsJanuary 17, 202537:36 min
Cellphone screen showing various icons for social media apps

Does social media influence elections?

Researchers say social media is a 'stress test' for democracy. They want to know whether and how it affects voters.
MediaJanuary 17, 2025
Sahra Wagenknecht makes a speech at party conference

German election will be test for Sahra Wagenknecht and BSW

The former Left party Bundestag leader will need support in the western states where she has always performed weakest.
PoliticsJanuary 16, 2025
A logo of the far-right German AfD party

German police investigate AfD mock plane ticket campaign

The far-right AfD has been distributing fake "airplane tickets" to promote the deportation of "illegal immigrants."
PoliticsJanuary 15, 2025
Beatrix von Storch, deputy leader of the AfD parliamentary group, pictured on the sidelines of a party conference

Von Storch on energy infrastructure, economy, foreign policy

Beatrix von Storch, deputy leader of the AfD parliamentary group, speaks to DW's Matthew Moore.
PoliticsJanuary 15, 202518:17 min
Participants at the AfD conference carrying a JA bag and wearing a JA hoody.

Germany's far-right AfD replaces 'Young Alternative' group

Leaders of the Alternative for Germany party have faced problems with some of the youth wing's past activities.
PoliticsJanuary 12, 2025
Elon Musk holds a disposable coffee cup in the Capitol building

As Musk pushes AfD, German officials consider ditching X

As the billionaire trolls officials and backs extremists, the government faces calls to quit his social media site.
PoliticsJanuary 11, 2025
Adolf Hitler pictured with Gregor Strasser in an undated photo

Fact check: AfD head called Hitler 'communist.' He was not

In a talk with Elon Musk, AfD leader Alice Weidel claimed that Adolf Hitler was a communist. Historians disagree.
PoliticsJanuary 11, 2025
Police keep watch on an anti-AfD protesters in Riesa on the morning of Saturday January 11, 2025

Germany: Thousands protest AfD party conference in Saxony

The nationalist Alternative for Germany party is polling in second place ahead of February's federal election.
PoliticsJanuary 11, 2025
Ismet Var

Germany: Who are the AfD's immigrant voters?

The AfD is actively courting voters with an immigrant background while also stirring up anti-immigrant sentiment.
PoliticsJanuary 11, 2025
Image of Musk and Weidel on a phone announcing the livestream held in January 2025.

EU regulators take a hard look at Elon Musk and X

Musk and X could face fines should EU investigators find that he manipulated the site's algorithm to influence voters.
PoliticsJanuary 10, 2025
Laptop open at X.com with photos of AfD leader Alice Weidel and owner Elon Musk

German institutions depart X, a day after Musk's Weidel talk

More than 60 German and Austrian academic organizations say they will leave the messaging platform X owned by Elon Musk.
PoliticsJanuary 10, 2025
Teaser Berlin Briefing NEU

Main takeaways from Musk and Weidel's X talk

From Hitler to Mars - what was the chat between X owner Elon Musk and the far-right AfD's leader Alice Weidel all about?
PoliticsJanuary 10, 202542:47 min
Teaser Berlin Briefing NEU

Main takeaways from Musk and Weidel's X talk

From Hitler to Mars - what was the chat between X owner Elon Musk and the far-right AfD's leader Alice Weidel all about?
PoliticsJanuary 10, 202544:31 min
Olaf Scholz, Friedrich Merzs in Berlin during a ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the assassination attempt against Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in 1944

German election: Focus on immigration and the economy

Immigration and the poor state of the economy are the top issues for German voters, the latest survey shows.
PoliticsJanuary 10, 2025
A view of a laptop showing a X feed with the Musk/Weidel discussion

Fact check: Do Musk and Weidel's claims hold up?

During a live talk on X, Elon Musk and the AfD's Alice Weidel made some strong political claims. What do the facts say?
PoliticsJanuary 10, 2025
Alice Weidel is pictured in her office before a virtual talk event

Elon Musk praises Alice Weidel's far-right AfD in X chat

Pundits say the conversation with billionaire Elon Musk may not have necessarily helped the AfD's chancellor candidate.
PoliticsJanuary 10, 2025
A mobile phone showing a live chat between Elon Musk and Alice Weidel

Musk hosts X talk with German far-right leader Weidel

Two experts assess the "wide-ranging" live talk between Elon Musk and Alice Weidel of Germany's AfD party.
PoliticsJanuary 9, 202509:01 min
Composite image of tech billionaire Elon Musk (L) wearing a black MAGA hat and Alice Weidel (R) of Germany's far-right AfD party

Officials fear Musk will try to tip German election to AfD

The billionaire is using his X platform to showcase Alice Weidel, the leader of the nationalist Alternative for Germany.
PoliticsJanuary 9, 202502:17 min
Manfred Weber speaks into a DW microphone

AfD support puts Musk 'on the wrong side of history'

EU conservative bloc leader Manfred Weber told DW it's not in Elon Musk's business interests to back the far right.
PoliticsJanuary 8, 202506:55 min
JD Vance in front of Donald Trump, standing next to an American flag

Fact check: JD Vance is wrong about AfD, Nazis

Is the far-right AfD most successful in parts of Germany that previously resisted the Nazis? No — and here's why.
PoliticsJanuary 5, 2025
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks at the opening of a Tesla-Gigafactory in the presence of Elon Musk in 2022

Germany: Scholz uneasy over Musk's support for far-right AfD

Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck also warned Germans to not underestimate Elon Musk's influence ahead of the snap election.
PoliticsJanuary 4, 2025
Elon Musck in front of a flag background

Musk's 'undignified' insults irritate German politicians

German politicians have criticized Elon Musk's aggressive support for the far-right AfD ahead of the general election.
PoliticsJanuary 2, 2025
Elon Musk

German election: Why Elon Musk promotes the far-right AfD

Elon Musk's election appeal for the nationalist Alternative for Germany party set off a storm of criticism in Germany.
PoliticsDecember 30, 2024
Tech billionaire Elon Musk attends a forum on fighting antisemitism in Krakow, Poland

German chancellor candidate Merz slams Musk over AfD stance

Conservative leader Friedrich Merz hit back at Elon Musk, decrying his interference as "intrusive and pretentious."
PoliticsDecember 29, 2024
People demonstrate in Hamburg against the AfD

2024: A look back in pictures

Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as Donald Trump's reelection, were some of the defining events of the year.
HistoryDecember 28, 202416 images
Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends a news conference at the carmaker's production site in Grünheide, Germany

Elon Musk backs far-right AfD in controversial German op-ed

German authorities class the AfD as far-right extremist and say it endangers democracy. The US billionaire disagrees.
PoliticsDecember 28, 2024
Teaser Berlin Briefing NEU

What you need to know about Germany’s AfD

DW Berlin Briefing (recorded on December 13) discusses what's driving the far-right party's growth.
PoliticsDecember 27, 202443:52 min
Teaser Berlin Briefing NEU

What you need to know about Germany's AfD

DW Berlin Briefing (recorded on December 13) discusses what's driving the far-right party's growth.
PoliticsDecember 27, 202448:08 min
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser gesturing while surrounded by people at Christmas market in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Germany's Faeser says AfD shouldn't exploit Magdeburg attack

Five were killed and over 200 were injured when a car was driven through a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany.
PoliticsDecember 26, 2024
Men wearing black raise their fists during an extreme-right demonstration in Magdeburg

How Germany's far right is exploiting the Magdeburg attack

Authorities have reported a surge in racist attacks following the deadly Christmas market attack in Magdeburg.
PoliticsDecember 24, 2024
Co leader of German far right party AfD Alice Weidel,center, attends an AfD election campaign in front of the cathedral in Magdeburg, Germany, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024.

German far-right AfD rallies after Christmas market attack

Thousands in Magdeburg hold a counter-rally against hatred, honoring victims, as the AfD stages its own nearby.
PoliticsDecember 24, 202402:21 min
The Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz answers to reporters at the Christmas Market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024.

Germany: Magdeburg attack could shape upcoming election

With a general election due, it didn't take long for politicians to try and exploit the attack at the Christmas market.
PoliticsDecember 23, 2024
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius visits a German Navy vessel in 2023

German defense minister warns of Russian 'hybrid warfare'

Boris Pistorius said Berlin must be on alert for any hybrid attack by Moscow, amid concerns of election interference.
ConflictsDecember 22, 2024
Elon Musk at a Republican polticial rally in the United States

German politicians criticize Musk backing for far-right AfD

After Elon Musk posted his support for Germany's far-right AfD, the party's leader Alice Weidel expressed her gratitude.
PoliticsDecember 20, 2024
Judges at Germany's Federal Constitutional Court dressed in dressed in red robes taking their seats at the court in Karlsruhe, on January 23, 2024

Germany moves to protect top court against far right

As far-right populists gain ground in Germany, the Bundestag has now voted to protect Germany's Constitutional Court.
Law and JusticeDecember 20, 2024
Alice Weidel gesturing during a speech

Fact Check: Far-right AfD supporters spread false survey

Germany's federal elections are around the corner. Some supporters use false surveys to further their party's cause.
PoliticsDecember 19, 2024
German lawmakers are set to vote on a plan to protect the constitutional court from extremist forces

German lawmakers' plan to protect the constitutional court

German lawmakers are set to vote on a plan to protect the constitutional court from extremist forces.
PoliticsDecember 19, 202402:42 min
AfD supporters demonstrating, holding a banner reading 'Deutschland zuerst!' (Germany first)

Far-right AfD party wants Germany to leave the EU

The far-right AfD has radical proposals for Germany to leave the EU and the euro. What consequences would this have?
PoliticsDecember 18, 2024
Friedrich Merz in conversation with his party's lawmakers

German election 2025: Parties present campaign platforms

In their draft election manifestos, Germany's political parties focus on income, the economy and jobs.
PoliticsDecember 17, 2024
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock shakes hands with China's top diplomat Wang Yi in Beijing on December 2

What do Chinese people think about Germany?

Experts in China recently compiled important information about German politics and society in an annual report.
PoliticsDecember 8, 2024
Alice Weidel gestures with her right hand as she speaks at a lectern

Who is Germany's far-right AfD leader Alice Weidel?

Alternative for Germany party leader Alice Weidel is running for chancellor. Where does she stand politically?
PoliticsDecember 7, 2024
Teaser Berlin Briefing NEU

What did Angela Merkel get wrong on Russia?

Michaela Küfner unpacks Putin’s hybrid war with guests and ask them to assess how Germany should respond.
PoliticsNovember 29, 202432:06 min
Teaser Berlin Briefing NEU

What did Angela Merkel get wrong on Russia?

Michaela Küfner unpacks Putin’s hybrid war with guests and ask them to assess how Germany should respond.
PoliticsNovember 29, 202429:50 min