As the AfD elects its chancellor candidate, the far-right party looms large over German politics
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And so now it is certain. Alice Weidel will lead her far-right party into Germany's general election next month. She was overwhelmingly backed at the Alternative for Germany (AfD) conference and was greeted with a standing ovation. Weidel will fight the election with a manifesto that follows a familiar pattern from other successful populist campaigns in Europe and beyond - contempt for mainstream politicians, anger over levels of irregular immigration, a desire to rein in the power of the European Union and dismay over the spread of so-called woke values.
"Thank you for your trust," she told the audience. "I am excited to lead our campaign. For our people, for our future.". Who is Weidel?. Weidel is an unusual figure to lead a German hard right-wing party - a gay woman with a PhD in economics, a Sri Lankan partner, two children and a home in another country - she commutes from Switzerland.
How the far right hijacked Southport protests. Bristol witnessed a 'running battle' as protesters clashed - with bottles and punches thrown. Southport attack misinformation fuels far-right discourse on social media. Admittedly there is an awkward history - her grandfather was a Nazi judge appointed to the job personally by Adolf Hitler, but she has maintained that she did not know that fact growing up and has angrily distanced herself from accusations of racism.
Indeed, Ms Weidel maintains that her party is not on the far right, but is simply conservative. And that is part of her attraction - she is perceived as uncompromising on the things that the AfD's supporters hold dear - migration, Euroscepticism, the greatness of German culture - but she's also perceived as more palatable to the wider public.
