Germany's AfD accuses Merz of election fraud as it vows image reform
"They are continuing with the same left-green policies as before," Weidel said at a press conference after a closed-door party meeting at the weekend.
The AfD parliamentary group is "twice as strong as the previous one," Weidel said, whose party currently has 151 seats in the current German parliament, the Bundestag, and is the second most popular party in the western European country.
However, critics of the AfD argue that the party remains far from exerting any real influence, as none of the other parties in the Bundestag are willing to cooperate with it.
This is not the first time Weidel has accused Merz of electoral fraud by reneging on campaign trail pledges.
On 24 February, a day after the snap election, Weidel took to X warning of "Election fraud on the horizon."
"On day one, Merz threw all his campaign promises overboard, refused to close the borders, and spoke with the Greens and SPD about reforming the debt brake. This is politics against the will of the voters!" she wrote.
However, on the campaign trail, where immigration was a hot topic, Merz never promised to close the borders, stating only that he intended to "secure the German border".
Weidel's claim that Merz had broken election promises, a post that has been viewed 1.7 million times, was accompanied by a video in which he discussed plans to tighten border controls.
"I also want to make it very clear once again: none of us are talking about border closures. Nobody is. Although that was claimed at times during the election campaign, none of us want to close the borders," he said in the video.
Image rehabilitation?
The weekend AfD meeting also saw the party attempting to establish a new code of conduct in a bid to create a new image for itself, one that might make working with it more appealing to other parties in the Bundestag.
In AfD's new position paper, the controversial word "remigration" — a far-right European term referring to mass deportations — does not appear once, although the party maintains its position is still tough on migration policy and tax cuts.
"We are focussing very closely on the working population," Weidel told the national evening news programme, Tagesschau.
Another focus is "Closing and controlling the borders," said Weidel.
According to analysts, the AfD appears to be attempting to adopt a more moderate stance, with the goal of participating in government during the next legislative period.
The softening of its image could also represent a new strategy for the AfD in response to a legal dispute over its categorisation as an extremist entity.
In early May, Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) designated the AfD as a right-wing extremist organisation that poses a threat to democracy and the constitutional order.
That designation could subject the party to broader surveillance and scrutiny of its activities.
But days later the BfV said it would wait a court ruling before moving forward with plans to classify the party a "right-wing extremist" movement.
However, opinions within the AfD differ widely regarding its behaviour.
Parliamentary Director of the AfD parliamentary group, Stephan Brandner, believes that such a change is unnecessary. Surveys on the AfD show that the majority of potential AfD voters "do not want any change at all," says Brandner.
While the AfD's political partners in the current Bundestag are extremely limited, one party that could be an ally is the comparatively new Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW).
Founded in 2024, it sits on the political left but has nationalist leanings that chime with the AfD's positions.
BSW founder Sarah Wagenknecht said she is open to talks with the AfD, the German news magazine Spiegel reported.
And the AfD's co-leader Tino Chrupalla told Welt TV that he would be available for talks with Wagenknecht.
The party failed to win any seats in the current Bundestag, a situation that could change in the next federal election.
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