FALCON POWERS – The far-right Alternative for Germany party has announced that it will hold a referendum on Germany’s exit from the European Union if it comes to power, according to its co-leader Alice Weidel.
Weidel said in an interview published on Monday in the Financial Times: “If reform is not possible, if we fail to rebuild the sovereignty of the member states in the European Union, then we must leave the decision to the peoples as the United Kingdom has done.”
She added, “We can organize a referendum on ‘Germany’s exit from the European Union’,” praising the UK’s exit from the union as a “model for Germany” after the 2016 referendum.
Thanks to standard opinion polls that have placed it second nationally (around 22%) for several months, surpassing the Social Democratic Party led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and just behind the Conservatives, the German far-right has shown its desire to govern.
The next federal election is scheduled for 2025, and the Alternative for Germany party will field a candidate for chancellor for the first time. On the other hand, the main parties have ruled out any coalition or government with this anti-EU and anti-immigration party given the growing fragmentation of the political landscape, which involves forming alliances at the national and regional levels.
Three important regional elections are scheduled for September in eastern Germany, and the Alternative for Germany party is leading opinion polls with over 30%.
At its conference this summer, the Alternative for Germany party reaffirmed its skepticism about European belonging, in a country where a large section of the population still supports the country’s EU membership.
The Alternative for Germany party has been facing a problem for the past ten days after it was revealed that several of its members, including a close associate of Weidel’s, recently discussed the mass deportation of foreigners during a large gathering.
This information has caused shock in Germany, where massive demonstrations against the Alternative for Germany party, accused of posing a threat to democracy, have been taking place across the country for several days.
