AfD Leader: If we gain power… we may work to withdraw from the European Union

The far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) announced that it would hold a referendum on Germany’s exit from the European Union if it came to power, its co-leader Alice Weidel said.

“If reform isn’t possible, if we fail to rebuild the sovereignty of EU member states, then we must leave the decision to the people, as the United Kingdom did,” Weidel said in an interview published Monday to the Financial Times newspaper.

“We can organize a referendum on ‘Germany’s exit from the European Union,'” she added.

Weidel praised the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union as a model for Germany after the 2016 referendum.

Thanks to record opinion polls that for several months placed it in second place nationally (about 22%) ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats and just behind the Conservatives, the German far right has demonstrated its desire to govern.

The next legislative elections are scheduled to be held in 2025, and the Alternative for Germany party will field a candidate for the position of Chancellor for the first time.

On the other hand, the main parties have ruled out alliance and governance with this anti-EU and anti-immigration party in light of the increasing fragmentation of the political landscape that involves the formation of alliances at national and regional levels.

Three important regional elections are scheduled to be held in September in the east of the country, and the Alternative for Germany party is leading in opinion polls by more than 30%.

During its conference this summer, the Alternative for Germany party confirmed that it doubts European affiliation, in a country where a large portion of its people still support the country’s membership of the European Union.

The Alternative for Germany party has been facing a problem for ten days after it was revealed that several of its members, including those close to Weidel, recently discussed the mass expulsion of people of foreign origin during a rally.

This information caused shock in Germany, where massive demonstrations against the Alternative for Germany party, accused of posing a threat to democracy, broke out across the country several days ago.