Germany's AfD Party Looks to Capitalize on Shock Vote

Newsweek

06-05-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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Germany's surging far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, whose official designation as extremist has been rebuked by the White House, called for a snap election following a surprise parliamentary defeat for the country's conservative leader.
AfD's co-leader Alice Weidel said her party is "ready for the responsibility of government" after Friedrich Merz initially fell six votes short of being named chancellor—Germany's leader—in a first round of voting on Tuesday. He was later elected chancellor.
AfD has been making big gains recently, particularly in former East Germany. It finished second in federal elections in February, giving it 151 out of 630 Bundestag seats, and last month topped a major national poll for the first time.
Yet Germany's main parties have traditionally refused to work with the party, something the AfD and senior members of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration have railed against.
It was designated a right-wing extremist group by German intelligence officials last week, ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Nazis' defeat in World War II. That moves gives authorities more powers to monitor the AfD, including via phone tapping and spies.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it "tyranny in disguise, while Vice President JD Vance accused "the German establishment" of effectively rebuilding the Berlin Wall.
Why It Matters
Merz's embarrassing first-round defeat is unprecedented in modern German history. It also casts serious doubts on his ability to lead a united government, following the collapse of the previous administration late last year and suggests Germany's traditional main parties are struggling to hold a united front to keep out an increasingly popular AfD.
Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, gives a press statement in Berlin on May 5.
Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, gives a press statement in Berlin on May 5.What To Know
After the collapse of Germany's previous government, led by Olaf Scholz, Merz had emerged as the likely chancellor following the election on February 23.
But at 52 percent, Scholz's coalition government, which includes his conservative bloc and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), holds one of the country's slimmest parliamentary majorities since World War II.
While his coalition appeared to have enough votes, it seems that 18 members of parliament (MPs) expected to back him dissented in the secret ballot.
Merz, chairman of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), needed 316 out of 630 votes in a secret ballot in Germany's lower house of parliament, but only got 310 votes on Tuesday.
Bundestag President Julia Klöckner told MPs that nine of the 630 MPs were absent, three abstained and another ballot paper was declared invalid.
It is the first time in Germany's postwar history that a presumed chancellor has failed to be elected following successful coalition negotiations.
But Weidel called for Merz to resign and for a new election.
Elon Musk, key adviser to Trump, reshared on his X, formerly Twitter, platform a video post of Weidel reacting to the initial defeat for Merz.
Weidel said after the AfD's election success in February that Musk had called her and "congratulated me personally" on receiving 20.8 percent of the vote.
Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, designating AfD an "extremist" organization on Friday.
"The ethnicity- and ancestry-based understanding of the people prevailing within the party is incompatible with the free democratic order," the agency said at the time.
AfD launched a lawsuit against the decision on Monday. "With our lawsuit, we are sending a clear signal against the abuse of state power to combat and exclude the opposition," Weidel and co-party leader Tino Chrupalla said, calling it a bid to "distort democratic competition and delegitimise millions of votes."
Friedrich Merz is shown at the plenary hall for the continuation of a session at the Bundestag on May 6, where he failed to secure the role of chancellor in the first vote.
Friedrich Merz is shown at the plenary hall for the continuation of a session at the Bundestag on May 6, where he failed to secure the role of chancellor in the first vote.
RALF HIRSCHBERGER
The designation was denounced by Vance, who said the AfD was "by far the most representative" party in the formerly communist eastern Germany.
In April, the AfD topped a major poll for the first time, showing growing unhappiness in Germany at mainstream parties. The Ipsos survey put the AfD at 25 percent, ahead of the 24 percent support for Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc.
Markus Böckenförde, professor of constitutional and public law at Central European University in Budapest, told Newsweek that Merz's failure to secure the votes necessary delivered a "shock wave" to German politics.
Given the secrecy of the ballot, he said, there will be speculation about why Merz did not get the support he was expecting. It comes amid a sensitive debate on how to get policies through without the support of the AfD, Böckenförde said.
He described it as a "yellow card" for Merz, who has been given the message not to follow the kind of path he had taken in preparation of this coalition government.
What People Are Saying
Weidel, on Tuesday: "Merz should step aside and the way should be cleared for a general election....we are ready to take on responsibility in government."
AfD representative Bernd Baumann, in a speech shortly before the second vote: "This government starts out in extreme instability," adding, "And it will remain unstable. That is the opposite of what Germany needs."
Rubio on Friday posted to X after the AfD was designated "extremist": "Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That's not democracy — it's tyranny in disguise."
What Happens Next
Germany's next federal elections for the Bundestag parliament are scheduled to take place before March 26, 2029, so long as the new coalition does not collapse before then.