Alice Weidel is ecstatic. The leader of Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, AfD) party has just celebrated her 46th birthday. “Our chancellor of hearts!” rejoices a supporter wearing a Bavarian jacket, who hands her a thick turquoise-blue cake embossed with the party’s initials, prepared for the occasion. The scene is not far from Nuremberg, in the tiny medieval town of Greding, where she is holding a rally on February 7. 2,000 supporters waited for her for almost two hours to the sound of a brass band, mugs of beer in hand.
“Alice für Deutschland!” chants the audience as she takes to the stage. This slogan, at first sight harmless, refers to “Alles für Deutschland” (everything for Germany), the rallying cry of the SA, the Nazi paramilitary organization created in the 1920s. In Germany, saying it publicly is punishable by law. “You Bavarians always create such a wonderful atmosphere in the room, no other Land knows how to do it like you do,” smiles Weidel, as if intoxicated by the collective euphoria. A few minutes later, she launches into a tirade against illegal immigrants. “Deportation, deportation, deportation!” shouts the audience.
Credited with over 20% of voting intentions for the federal elections on Sunday, February 23, twice as many as in 2021, the far-right party is proposing Weidel as their candidate for chancellor for the first time since its creation in 2013. In the polls, she trails only the conservative CDU, whose candidate, Friedrich Merz, has sworn that he will not form a coalition with her.
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