AfD

AfD struggles to form government in Germany despite landmark election victory

Founded in 2013 as a eurosceptic movement, the AfD won over voters with an increasingly hardline opposition to immigration after around a million people fled to Germany in 2015.

|ByREUTERS
Co-leader of the Alternative for Germany party (AfD) and AfD's parliamentary group Alice Weidel speaks during a press conference on the occassion of a parliamentary group meeting ahead of the Bundestag sitting week in Berlin, Germany October 6, 2026.
Demonstrators protest an AfD campaign event in Wietze, Lower Saxony, ahead of the local elections, Sept. 10, 2026.

Germany’s far-right AfD makes gains in local elections, fended off by mainstream parties

The nationalist, anti-immigrant AfD siphoned off votes from Germany’s mainstream parties in the northwestern state, home to 8 million people. The election was seen as a test of the AfD’s recent surge

|BySHIRA LI BARTOV/JTA
(L to R) Green Party spokespersons Amanda Lind, Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson, Social Democratic Party leader Magdalena Andersson, Swedish Prime Minister and Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson and Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar take part in a televised debate on September 10, 2026.

Swedes vote in election that could usher far right into government

Europe's rising far-right parties would welcome the Sweden Democrats' electoral success, boosted by the AfD's significant win in a German state election this month.

|ByREUTERS
People gather in front of the Brandenburg Gate to protest against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) the day after the party won in Saxony-Anhalt state elections, Berlin, Germany, Sept. 7, 2026.

Germany’s far-right AfD, riding state win, targets more gains in elections from east to west

The three upcoming elections are being closely watched for signs of the AfD’s wider-scale momentum, said Daniel Schuster, who heads the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s European office. 

|BySHIRA LI BARTOV/JTA

German city of Dresden declares 'Nazi emergency'

Dresden capital of the eastern state of Saxony has a long history of far-right extremism.

NOVEMBER 3, 2019ByALEX WINSTON
Supporters of the anti-Islam movement PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West) attend a demonstration in Dresden, Germany, October 21, 2018

Germany's far-right AfD loses support after synagogue shooting -report

A survey of 2,500 Germans by research institute forsa showed 11% support for AfD on Thursday, down from 13% at the beginning of the week.

OCTOBER 13, 2019ByREUTERS
Flowers and candles are seen outside the synagogue in Halle, Germany October 10, 2019, after two people were killed in a shooting

Far-right AfD party makes large gains in two German state elections

The anti-immigrant party, with some politicians who also have suggested that Germany is too obsessed with the Holocaust, achieved second place in Brandenburg and Saxony.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019ByTOBY AXELROD/JTA
Supporters of the Anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany (AfD) hold German flags during a protest in Berlin, Germany May 27, 2018

Germany's far-right AfD uses video of Israeli brawl to bash migrants

Von Storch was referring to a brawl at a public swimming pool at the weekend in Stuttgart where police arrested three youths who had attacked staff.

JULY 5, 2019ByREUTERS
A public brawl at a water park in Israel

German delegation to Israel shunned due to participation of far-right MP

According to the Algemeiner, the delegation arrived in the country on Sunday for a cyber-security conference in Tel Aviv and a meeting with top scientists at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

JUNE 27, 2019ByILANIT CHERNICK
Supporters of the Anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany (AfD) hold German flags during a protest in Berlin, Germany May 27, 2018

Far-right German lawmakers walk out on Holocaust survivor speech

"The so-called AfD bases it politics on hate and exclusion and doesn't abide by our democratic constitution," Knobloch said in her speech.

JANUARY 23, 2019ByREUTERS
Bundestag 370

Jewish supporters of far-right AfD party favor kosher ban

“Enabling kosher slaughter is important for Jews, but not essential for survival,” the Jewish support group, calling itself Jews in the AfD, said in a statement that was posted on social media.

DECEMBER 5, 2018ByJTA
Supporters of the Anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany (AfD) hold German flags during a protest in Berlin, Germany May 27, 2018

German Jews call far-right party's 'Jews in the Afd' a marketing ploy

Alternative for Germany's Fuhl says they are probably the most pro-Israel party in the Bundestag

OCTOBER 8, 2018ByJEREMY SHARON, REUTERS
Alice Weidel and Alexander Gauland, top candidates of the anti-immigration party Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD)

German AfD party condemns member for calling Hitler attacker a traitor

Leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) condemned a party member on Thursday for branding a German officer who tried to kill Adolf Hitler a traitor.

AUGUST 2, 2018ByREUTERS
King Victor Emanuel III, (R) Adolf Hitler (C) and Benito Mussolini (L) watch fascist troops march past from a balcony in central Rome in this 1941 television file footage.

AFD chief rebuked for playing down Nazis in German history

Alexander Gauland compared Hitler and the Nazis to no more than "bird shit" in Germany's history.

JUNE 2, 2018ByREUTERS
Demonstrators protest against the anti-immigration party Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) after German general election