AfD expected to nominate ex-World Cup winner Thomas Berthold for presidency

Nomination reported ahead of Saturday's decision

Reports published on 13 November 2026, citing dpa and RTL/ntv information, said the AfD is expected to nominate Thomas Berthold as its candidate for Federal President. The party has not yet confirmed the name officially. A formal decision is due on Saturday, 14 November, at a meeting of the federal executive with the state party chairs, and Bild reported that a closed-door session in Berlin will involve about 30 federal and state officials. The agenda of that session includes preparation for the election of the Federal President.

Berthold, 62, won the 1990 World Cup with the German national team in Italy and earned 62 caps as a defender. He also played for Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich, VfB Stuttgart, Verona and Roma. After his playing career he managed Fortuna Düsseldorf and worked as a television and magazine pundit.

A symbolic contest

The Federal Assembly convenes on 30 January, and the candidate nominated by the CDU/CSU and SPD, Bavarian CSU politician Ilse Aigner, is expected to win the majority. Aigner, who is president of the Bavarian Landtag, would become Germany's first female Federal President, succeeding Frank-Walter Steinmeier. She is also backed by the SPD and the Greens, and the reports describe the AfD nomination as largely symbolic.

The AfD's 2022 pick, Max Otte, exposed deep divisions. Party chair Tino Chrupalla pushed Otte's candidacy through against co-chair Jörg Meuthen, who considered Otte too controversial because of his former leadership of the WerteUnion. Otte was later excluded from the CDU, and Meuthen eventually left the AfD. This time the party is making strong efforts to maintain unity.

Polling backdrop

A ZDF Politbarometer poll puts the AfD ahead of the Union. If federal elections were held on Sunday, the AfD would take 28%, two points more than the previous week. The CDU/CSU would fall one point to 22%, and the SPD would lose one point to 13%. The Greens would gain two points to 15%, placing them third, while the Linke would drop one point to 10%. The FDP at 3% would remain below the 5% threshold for entry into parliament.

AfD28%

CDU/CSU22%

Greens15%

SPD13%

Linke10%

FDP3%

AfD

28 %

CDU/CSU

22 %

Greens

15 %

SPD

13 %

Linke

10 %

FDP

3 %

Data from the article text

Pandemic stance and reactions

During the Covid-19 pandemic Berthold publicly criticised the government's measures. He told dpa in 2020 that they were "completely overblown", and at a Querdenken 711 event in Stuttgart he said his trust in the political leadership had reached "under zero". He also took part in a 2020 demonstration by the Querdenker movement against the restrictions.

SPD politician Ralf Stegner sharply criticised the expected nomination, telling the Rheinische Post:

“Only someone who has done too many header exercises with a medicine ball could come up with the idea of letting a far-right party nominate them as a presidential candidate.”

Stegner added that it was generally welcome when outstanding athletes took on social responsibility or volunteered after their active careers.