The leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD, short for the party's German-language name, Alternative for Germany), said on Monday: In an interview with the Financial TimesHe said his party would campaign for a German-style Brexit if it won the election. Alice Weidel, who heads a party that is increasingly popular among the general population and even more popular, According to polls conducted by PoliticoIn some German regions, he told the British newspaper that the choice taken by the United Kingdom would also be “absolutely correct” for Germany, because this separation, in his opinion, would strengthen the country’s sovereignty, which is the main argument of those who, in some German regions, in the United Kingdom, They designed the winning Brexit campaign. “That a country can make a choice like this is a model for Germany,” Weidel said.
Before moving towards a referendum on “Brexit” (a combination of “Deutschland + Exit”), the AfD-led government will aim to “reform the EU” and end its “democratic deficit”, by reducing the powers of Parliament. European Commission 'unelected executive' If such change is not possible, the way forward may be a vote. He said: “If we cannot rebuild the sovereignty of EU member states, we must leave it to our people to decide, just as the United Kingdom did.”
A bittersweet moment for the AfD
during the Weekend, At least one million people They gathered in several German cities in protest against the Alternative for Germany party, after a press investigation revealed a meeting between some of its members and a group of far-right identity activists, some of whom are openly neo-Nazis, during which proposals to reduce the number of foreigners in the country that had not been heard before were made. , including the deportation of people who held German passports and had not been “acculturated.”
Alice Weidel, a former investment banking executive, has not yet given an interview since the investigation became known, clearly intending to divert attention from the widespread uproar caused by the article. Weidel, who is married to a Sri Lankan citizen and has two children, believes that the idea of deportation that was discussed in the meeting “is being used to distort the intentions of the party,” which is the party he “represents.” Determined by the application of Germany's laws. In Germany, it seems that they wanted to clearly remember that sending people with German passports to other countries is still illegal.
What your government will do regarding net migration figures, which, according to the European Refugee Council, reached a maximum in 2022, after the entry of 1.1 million Ukrainians, we do not know. At this moment, when the AfD receives between 20 and 21% of voting intentions in most federal-level opinion polls, and exceeds 35% in some states in eastern Germany, such as Thuringia, this remains a question that needs to be answered.
However, we know that the number of migrants considered irregular, who mainly enter through Germany's borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, has fallen by 40%, a result attributed to new control measures in the Schengen Area, which are also controversial. At the European level, it was even criticized by the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson. However, German Interior Minister Nancy Weiser, who ordered the re-imposition of controls, is satisfied with the “effectiveness” of the temporary border controls, according to the latest immigration news report published by the European Refugee Council.
Public support for the European Union is very high in Germany, With recent polls from the Pew Research Center Indicating that about 71% of people maintain their confidence in the European project (Other studies estimated this support at 82%.). However, it is weaker among AfD voters, about 52%A report by an institute linked to the Christian Democratic Union, the party of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, which wrote in the party's statute, when she was still leading it, said its members were banned from joining the far right.
Germany is waging a debate about the party's illegitimacy, which is allowed by the constitution because of its connotations with Nazi ideas, but it is very difficult for the constitution to accept that, analysts say. Moreover, it can become A piece of resistance The party needs to become a home for all those who do not trust the system.
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