Amid Ban Efforts, AfD Nominates Alice Weidel as Chancellor Candidate for February Elections

Dec 7, 2024, 11:11 AM

Alice Weidel, co-chair of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, has been officially nominated as the party's first-ever chancellor candidate ahead of the snap federal elections scheduled for February. The AfD, polling second nationally at 17% behind the ruling CDU/CSU coalition's 33%, is making a bold move by putting forward a candidate for chancellor for the first time since its inception. Weidel, a 45-year-old economist known for her Euroskeptic views, is openly gay and has co-led the party since 2017. Her nomination comes amid efforts by more than 100 German MPs, including Conservative CDU MP Marco Wanderwitz, to ban the AfD, citing concerns over the party's far-right stance. Protests were held in Berlin's Reinickendorf district against the AfD's nomination of Weidel. She asserts that the AfD is the only "real opposition" in Germany and believes the party has a "governmental claim" despite other parties' reluctance to form a coalition with them.