AfD approves mass expulsions of migrants ahead of German elections

The German far right is in an optimistic mood.

On Saturday, while holding its conference in Riesa, Saxony, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) outlined its ambitions to close Germany’s borders, resume purchases of Russian gas and, in effect, dismantle the EU.

German media reported that the manifesto agreed by the party plans to leave the Paris climate agreement, exit the euro and create a new confederation of states.

AfD leader Alice Weidel has even publicly adopted the term “remigration” – a word that is widely understood to mean the “return” or mass expulsion of people with immigrant backgrounds.

Thousands of anti-AfD protesters took to the streets of Riesa on Saturday, seeking to block access to the conference venue.

When Alice Weidel finally took the stage, she described the activists outside as a “left-wing mob.”

And, in front of a conference room of delighted delegates, there was talk of “large-scale returnees.”

“And I have to be honest with you: If this is called remigration, then that’s what it will be: remigration,” she said.

It’s a striking change from just a year ago, when she sought to distance herself from a scandal centered on the highly controversial concept.

Anti-AfD protests took place nationwide after it was revealed that senior party officials were present at a meeting where “remigration” was allegedly discussed with Martin Sellner, an activist from Austrian far right with a neo-Nazi past.

Sellner wrote about “remigrant” asylum seekers, certain foreigners with residency rights, and “unassimilated” citizens.

A buzzword among Europe’s far right, some say legal residents would not be forced to leave. Critics say “remigration” is just a euphemism for an overtly racist mass expulsion plan.

But Alice Weidel’s decision to personally coin this term, a few weeks before the snap federal election, demonstrates the growing radicalism and confidence of her party.

She also pledged to demolish wind farms that she called “windmills of shame”, leave the European asylum system and “deport” gender studies professors.

The AfD regularly comes in second in Germany and made gains in recent regional elections in the east of the country, where the party is strongest.

However, it is very unlikely that it will come to power because other parties will not work with the AfD.

Sections of the AfD have been classified by domestic intelligence as right-wing extremists.

In 2024, a talisman of the far-right AfD – Björn Höcke – was fined twice for using a banned SA Nazi paramilitary phrase, “Alles für Deutschland” (“all for Germany”).

He called it an “everyday phrase” and denied being aware of its origins, although he was a history professor.

Reports that members of the Riesa conference chanted “Alice for Germany” this weekend sparked quick comparisons in the German media.

However, AfD figures frequently complain of being demonized and persecuted by a biased media and establishment.

And Alice Weidel’s party – of which she is co-leader and now candidate for Chancellor – has weathered repeated storms to now hover around, or even above, 20% in national polls.

The 45-year-old economist, who worked for Goldman Sachs and is in a same-sex relationship, has sought to polish his party’s rough edges.

But for those who are staunchly opposed to the AfD, she is a fig leaf or – as one social democrat put it – a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”.

Regardless, she is enjoying a new spotlight after being invited by tech billionaire – Elon Musk – for a live conference on his X platform last weekwhere he fully supported the party.

His statement during this discussion that Adolf Hitler was in fact a communist drew condemnation, given the Nazi leader’s well-known anti-communism.

Critics have warned of Nazi revisionism – something the AfD has previously been accused of.

Björn Höcke once called for a “180-degree turnaround” in Germany’s handling of its Nazi past, while a former co-leader, Alexander Gauland, described the Nazi era as “just a speck of manure in more than 1,000 years of successful German history.” “.

Nevertheless, the AfD’s anti-establishment, anti-immigration and anti-woke program finds supporters in Germany who will go to the polls on February 23.