Germany’s AfD eases hardlines on migrants

(MENAFN)
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is easing its hardline anti-immigration rhetoric in an effort to attract more moderate voters and position itself as a viable government contender, according to the German outlet Bild.

Since its founding in 2013, the right-wing party has grown in popularity amid Germany’s ongoing migrant crisis. It came in second in the February federal elections, securing 152 of the 630 seats in the Bundestag. A recent Forsa poll showed the AfD leading with 26% support, ahead of all other parties.

Bild reported on Saturday that it had obtained a new seven-point policy proposal the AfD parliamentary group planned to adopt. Notably, the draft excludes previous demands for the “remigration” of residents with migrant backgrounds and the promotion of a “German guiding culture.”

These terms were reportedly removed to help the party appeal to a broader electorate and demonstrate its readiness to govern by the 2029 federal election. The AfD also aims to implement a code of conduct for its Bundestag lawmakers and hopes to gain traction in next year’s regional elections.

The updated platform reportedly calls for ending asylum grants at the border, imposing stricter naturalization rules, and cutting social welfare benefits for migrants. Additionally, the party supports tax cuts, lifting its ban on nuclear power, and restoring the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which were sabotaged in 2022 and are currently nonoperational.

On foreign policy, Bild states the AfD wants to prioritize “Germany first,” likely meaning a halt to weapons shipments to Ukraine and easing sanctions on Russia.

The AfD Bundestag group confirmed on X that its members held a “closed meeting” over the weekend to set their political objectives for the near future. The party was labeled a “confirmed right-wing extremist entity” by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency in May, though this designation was temporarily suspended shortly afterward.

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