Politico learned about the AFD's attempt to move away from the image of an extreme right-wing party

Alice Weidel, co-chair of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, is trying to rebrand the party, believing that the AfD will not be able to achieve real political power if it does not reject candidates who openly adhere to the far-right position. This was reported on December 1 by the newspaper Politico.

So, even at the land level, Weidel considers it necessary to move away from such candidates in local elections as Bjorn Hecke, who was found guilty in 2025 for uttering a banned slogan used by Adolf Hitler's stormtroopers, and Maximilian Krach, who in 2024 declared that "he will never say that someone who wears an SS uniform, he is automatically a criminal."

However, the publication notes that the transformation of the party "turns out to be only superficial" and Weidel cannot hide the ultra-right sentiments that hover among the AFD members.

"Weidel's desire to create a more polished party image is not necessarily supported by large sections of the AFD rank—and—file, especially in its strongholds in former East Germany, which indicate that the party's political rise coincided with its radicalization," the article says.

The article clarifies that the co-chairman of the party also seeks to "move his party somewhat away from proximity to the Kremlin," switching to rapprochement with the Republican Party of the United States.

Weidel and her entourage are seeking to establish closer ties with the administration of American leader Donald Trump and other right—wing governments, considering ties with the Republicans of the MAGA movement (English: Make America Great Again) in the United States and other right-wing parties in Europe as a way to gain trust in Germany.

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On October 12, Bild newspaper reported 62% dissatisfied with the government of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. At the same time, the same study illustrated that the opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD) party remains the most popular in the country (26%), while Merz's CDU party shows a result of 24%.

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