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The co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party has called for mass deportations of immigrants as the party rolls out plans for next month’s national elections.
Alice Wedel gave a fiery speech to supporters in the small town of Riessa in the eastern German state of Saxony, saying that under the leadership of the Alternative for Germany party – which is second in the polls – the vote share A record high, about 20% – Germany will witness “mass repatriation”.
Wedel, the Chancellor candidate of the Alternative for Germany party, used the controversial word “immigration” to describe this policy during this election.
The term was coined by Austrian right-wing theorist Martin Serna, who defined “re-immigration” as the forcible deportation of immigrants who break the law or “refuse to integrate” regardless of their citizenship status – an idea that critics say is similar to Ethnic cleansing.
“I have to be very honest with you: If it’s called re-immigration, it’s called re-immigration,” Wedel said on Saturday.
She received loud applause from party delegates, who repeatedly chanted “Alice für Deutschland” – a play on the banned Nazi-era slogan “Alles für Deutschland”, which means “All for Germany”.
Wedel, a former Goldman Sachs analyst, has positioned himself as the more visible face of a party that includes extreme radicals classified as right-wing extremists by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.
Earlier this week, during an appearance on X with Elon Musk, Wedel used the unprecedented public platform to argue that the Alternative for Germany – which has also pushed for normalizing relations with Moscow and dismantling wind turbines – had become mainstream. political power.
However, its chances of coming to power in the upcoming elections are slim, as all other major German parties have ruled out forming a coalition with it.
Some in the party viewed Weidel’s support for immigration as an endorsement of Bjorn Hock. Achieved a historic first place.
“This is a concession to Bjorn Hock,” said Kay Gottschalk, a member of the Bundestag and one of the more moderate members of the party. “Of course, that’s one word. I would say it another way – send them back – but that’s what the representatives want.
In her speech, Wedel also reiterated her calls for the Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Germany to be brought back online, the restoration of nuclear power and her condemnation of the gender research program.
The gathering was met with massive protests. About 10,000 anti-AfD demonstrators showed up and police cordoned off Rizal, a town of 30,000 people, delaying the start of the meeting by two hours.
