Germany’s exit from the Schengen Area and the eurozone, closing the borders and much tougher immigration policies. This is the promise of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which according to the latest polls is leading at the national level.
In an interview with German television ZDF, AfD co-chair Alice Weidel said that Germany was in a better economic situation before the introduction of the euro. According to her, the single European currency has weakened the German economy and reduced household wealth.
On immigration, Weidel was even more direct: “We will close the borders and leave Schengen,” she declared. The AfD leader also called for more deportations of migrants and fewer naturalizations, including the return of Syrian nationals whose protection status is no longer valid.
Weidel also attacked the CDU for refusing to cooperate with the AfD, adding: “We will govern first in the federal states. And we will govern at the federal level as well.”
The statements come at a time when the AfD is gaining ground in the polls. According to the ZDF Politbarometer, the party has 27% support at the national level, ahead of the CDU/CSU bloc with 22%. Meanwhile, in the run-up to the September 6 state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD is supported by over 40% of respondents.
In May 2025, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) classified the AfD as a confirmed far-right organization. However, in February of this year, the Cologne Administrative Court temporarily banned the BfV from treating the party with this classification until the end of the legal proceedings. The court said that there are strong indications of unconstitutional tendencies within the AfD, but that it has not yet been proven that they characterize the party as a whole.