Far-right Alternative for Germany reports surge in membership

Julian Flak, (AfD, Essen, Germany, June 29, 2024. REUTERS/Christian Mang

By Sarah Marsh

ESSEN, Germany (Reuters) - Leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany on Saturday reported a surge in membership and vowed to build on its success in the European Parliament election as it targets wins in three state votes in the east this year.

Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) party co-leader Alice Weidel gives an interview during a party convention in Essen, Germany, June 29, 2024. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch

The AfD jumped to second place in nationwide polls last year amid frustration with infighting in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition and worries over sluggish growth in Europe's largest economy and the war in Ukraine.

While a string of scandals and anti-extremism protests has dampened support in recent months, the nationalist, eurosceptic party nonetheless came second with 15.9% in the European vote this month, ahead the three parties in Scholz's coalition.

AfD membership had grown by 60% to 46,881 members since January 2023, co-chief Tino Chrupalla told nearly 600 delegates at the party's convention in the western city of Essen. Some 22,000 people had joined the party while 4,000 had left it.

Protesters attend a demonstration against Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), as the AfD party holds a convention in Essen, Germany, June 29, 2024. REUTERS/Christian Mang

"Despite all the harassment you have to endure as a member of the AfD, this is an absolutely sensational figure," Chrupalla told the party convention.

Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) party co-leader Tino Chrupalla attends a party convention in Essen, Germany, June 29, 2024. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch

The figure is still a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of members that the big tent parties in Germany, Scholz’s Social Democrats and the opposition conservatives, boast.

The congress was held despite resistance from city authorities - marked by the rainbow and EU flags flying on the flagpoles outside the convention centre - and thousands of protesters who sought to prevent AfD delegates from making it there.

It will run until Sunday, the same day neighbouring France holds the first round of a snap parliamentary election that could bring the far right to power.

"We will not be intimidated," said co-chief Alice Weidel. "We are here and we are here to stay."

The AfD is on track to come in first place in elections in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg in September, according to polls, which will likely further complicate governance there as other parties refuse to form a coalition with it.

In discussing the party's policy platform, Weidel said AfD allies should oppose the disbursal of tax payer money to the "debt states" of Europe and the idea that Ukraine belongs to the European Union, after it opened membership talks this week.

Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) party co-leader Tino Chrupalla attends a party convention in Essen, Germany, June 29, 2024. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch

The AfD is on course to form a new political group in the European Parliament - a move which would require 23 MEPs from at least seven EU countries - after being expelled from the Identity and Democracy grouping last month, Weidel said.

Protestors attend a demonstration against Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), as the AfD party holds a convention in Essen, Germany, June 29, 2024. REUTERS/Christian Mang

The ID expelled the AfD after its lead candidate for the European elections said the Nazi's Waffen SS were "not all criminals", a move costing the party both funding and the platform in parliament.

A protester stands near the venue of the party convention of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Essen, Germany, June 29, 2024. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch

(Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Alison Williams)

Police scuffle with protesters who block access near the venue where delegates of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) hold a party convention in Essen, Germany June 29, 2024. REUTERS/Christian Mang