Alternative for Germany — Russian influence in German election

In Germany, candidates from different political parties are running for the post of chancellor. Early elections to the Bundestag (German government) will be held on February 23. Alice Weidel, leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), a pro-Russian nationalist party, is among the four leaders. 

Read more about the party's ideology and why they don't want to support Ukraine in the Novyny.LIVE article.

Party ideology

The Alternative for Germany party was founded in 2013 and in a few years it became the third-largest party in the Bundestag. Its ideology is very different from the others, as it is a nationalist party, populist and euroskeptic. 

The party's goal is to leave the eurozone. This attracted the party's current leader, Alice Weidel, because she also has strong views on the euro.

And in a way, the party met her halfway when a lesbian became the party's leader in defense of traditional family values. Since then, Alternative for Germany has not spoken out on these issues.

Another scandalous issue surrounding the party is immigration, as Alternative for Germany takes a hardline anti-immigration stance.

How does the victory of the far right threaten Ukraine? 

Even before Russia's full-scale invasion, Alternative for Germany gave cause for suspicion that it was pro-Russian. Members of the party participated in an economic forum in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

And after February 2024, it began to actively criticize the German authorities for their support and assistance to Ukraine. They were against both the supply of tanks and weapons and the accession of Ukraine to NATO.

In addition, the party does not support sanctions against Russia, especially those related to Nord Stream 2.

In 2023, some foreign media found a pro-Russian trace in the party's financing. Allegedly, the Kremlin controls which initiatives the party should lobby for.

Currently, the leader of the party wants to become chancellor, which could lead to the withdrawal of the German government's support for Ukraine.

In general, it seems that Ukraine has become one of the key issues in the election campaign among the candidates for the chancellorship.

At a conference in the Saxon city of Riese, in January, the Alternative for Germany ruled out a manifesto with a number of radical ideas — include closing the borders, deporting migrants, abandoning the euro.

As we wrote earlier, Alice Weidel stated that she wants to build good relations with major powers, including Russia.

While Olaf Scholz has drastically changed his mind about Russia over the course of his career and, after the full-scale invasion, began to support Ukraine in every way possible. Candidate Friedrich Merz also declared his support for Ukraine.