Before Leif-Erik Holm became the Alternative for Germany (AfD)’s lead candidate in the federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, he was a popular DJ on local radio, and his promotion to the forefront signals the party’s desire to change its image, writes Politico.
Polls show that the AfD is currently in the lead – it has the support of 38% of voters. That means the chances of becoming the ruling force in the German government are high, and the reins of power are very close. Holm is the type of candidate that at least some AfD leaders want to see at the top of the list. His demeanor is dignified, and Holm avoids the provocative rhetoric that has been practiced by the party’s representatives so far. He has indicated that he is looking for opportunities for dialogue with political opponents. When asked what his party would do if it came to power, Holm responded with perfectly innocuous suggestions – investing more in education, including STEM subjects, and ensuring that immigrant children learn German before they start school. Holm added that he was a nice person.
However, there is a clear political calculation behind the nice person image. One of the party leaders, Alice Weidel, is trying to change the image of the political force, and believes that the AfD will not achieve real positions of power if it does not abandon candidates who openly express extremist views. This means moving away from controversial party leaders such as Björn Höcke, who was found guilty of uttering a banned SA slogan, and Maximilian Krah, who last year said he would never say that anyone who wore an SS uniform was automatically a criminal.
Instead, at least Weidel and her supporters see candidates like Holm, who can present a more balanced party image, as the most suitable candidates. But the changes are superficial, and even Weidel is not always able to disguise her views.
Since its formation in 2013,
the AfD has become more extreme, rallying its increasingly radical voters around the issue of migration.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, which is tasked with monitoring groups deemed anti-state, put the AfD on a list of extremist groups this year. Now, Weidel is trying to at least tone down its overt extremism. The effort is aimed at making the party more palatable to conservatives and avoiding attempts by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right coalition to prevent it from leading a coalition.
It’s not as if Weidel’s efforts to create a more polished image are supported by a large section of the AfD, especially in eastern Germany, where the party is particularly popular. Some argue that the party’s popularity has risen precisely at the same time that it has become more radical in its views.
Still, Weidel is continuing her drive to soften the party’s image. She has sought to distance the party from its ties to the Kremlin, instead seeking support from Republicans in the United States. One person familiar with Weidel’s thinking said that the AfD would “fight together with the white knight, not the black one.”
This year, an extremist youth group affiliated with the AfD was disbanded to avoid a possible ban that could damage the party’s image, and
the party in late November formed a new youth organization that will be directly controlled by the party leadership.
Other far-right parties in Europe are also trying to change their image. In France, Marine Le Pen’s party has chosen not to associate itself with the AfD in the European Parliament. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party, in turn, has toned down its previously strongly Eurosceptic image. As for the AfD, the changes are not so much in substance as in appearance. Extremism still simmers beneath Weidel’s efforts to smooth the party’s reputation.
Perhaps no one embodies the tension in the AfD more than Ulrich Siegmund, the party’s leading candidate in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. There, the party is polling at 40% of voters, and it is the seat the party has its highest hopes of securing a seat in government.
Like Holm, Siegmund is trying to project an image of an everyday person. Even representatives of rival parties describe him as friendly and approachable. With more than half a million followers on the social media platform TikTok, Siegmund reaches a larger audience than any other German politician. At the same time, he is clearly linked to the party’s most extreme wing. Siegmund attended a secret meeting of right-wing extremists where a plan to deport migrants was reportedly discussed. When news of the meeting was leaked last year, protests against the party erupted in Germany and temporarily damaged the AfD’s popularity in the polls. Speaking to Politico, Siegmund said
the secret meeting was just “chatting over coffee,” and that the real scandal was how the media exaggerated the meeting.
He described himself not as a dangerous extremist, but as an everyday guy who cared about his country. However, Siegmund also failed to completely hide his attitude. He defended the use of the phrase “Everything for Germany!”, which got his colleague into trouble with the law. Siegmund stressed that it shouldn’t even be a question of opinion – one should give everything to one’s country: “And I think that should also be the benchmark for every politician — to do everything they can for their own country, because that’s what they were elected to do and what they are paid to do.”
Siegmund also disagreed that Germans should avoid such statements, because the Nazis committed the greatest crime against humanity in history. He pointed out that such an explanation is exaggerated and detached from reality, and, in his opinion, it is important to look forward, not backward. Siegmund also did not undertake to say that the Nazis committed the greatest crime against humanity, because he “cannot evaluate all of humanity.”
AfD leaders privately indicated that the young politician’s statements make it difficult to improve their image. Such rhetoric may also significantly complicate the party’s recognition abroad. The party is trying to build ties with the administration of US President Donald Trump. Weidel has also met several times in Budapest with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and is trying to restore ties with French right-wing forces.
Not everyone in the party supports Weidel’s attempts to turn away from Moscow. One of the AfD leaders, Tino Chrupalla, recently told German public television that Vladimir Putin’s Russia does not pose a threat to Germany. Consequently, the direction of the AfD largely depends on which leading figure in the party succeeds in gaining support for their views.
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