AfD leader Alice Weidel outlines plans to exit Schengen, drop euro, and expel Syrian refugees

Schengen withdrawal and border closure proposals

Alice Weidel, co-leader of Alternative for Germany (AfD) alongside Tino Chrupalla, outlined her party's governing agenda during an interview on the second channel of German public broadcaster ZDF on 23 August 2026. Weidel announced that if the AfD assumes government power, Germany will formally terminate the Schengen Agreement, close its national borders, and abandon the euro currency. She stated that the Schengen system functions only when external borders are secure and internal borders remain open, conditions she argued do not exist today. In defending the proposed border closure, Weidel referenced migration events in Ceuta as an example of entry that her party intends to halt entirely.

We will close the borders, we will also leave Schengen, so that people like those from Ceuta do not come to us. This agreement must be terminated.

Refugee repatriations and euro currency exit

Under the AfD's migration agenda, Germany would carry out the immediate deportation of Syrian refugees residing within the country. German records cited in the broadcast show that 1.3 million Syrian refugees currently live in Germany. Weidel announced that an AfD administration will return all 1.3 million Syrian nationals to their home country. Shifting to economic policy, Weidel confirmed the party's formal platform objective of withdrawing Germany from the eurozone. She argued that the single currency has become inherently unstable, asserting that German households experienced greater financial wellbeing prior to the euro's adoption and linking the shared currency to the impoverishment of working families.

The euro has become an unstable currency. Germany was doing much better before adopting the euro. We see widespread pauperisation of the working classes.

Regional polling dominance and election calendar

The policy announcements come as the AfD records strong positions in voter polls ahead of state parliament elections scheduled for September 2026 in Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and Berlin. In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD leads voter surveys with 42% support, establishing a 20 percentage point advantage over the second-place Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which registers 22%. The party also leads opinion polls in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and anticipates electoral gains in the Berlin state assembly. Across Germany, the AfD maintains a national lead of up to eight percentage points over the CDU/CSU alliance, with the next federal Bundestag elections scheduled for 2029.

Leadership criticism and national governing ambitions

Weidel expressed confidence in the AfD's domestic political momentum, declaring that the party is on course for victory across regional and federal tiers. She directed sharp criticism at the current governing coalition and mainstream politicians, asserting that they are damaging Germany either through incompetence or deliberate action. Weidel specifically targeted Christian Democratic Union leader Friedrich Merz and Social Democratic Party co-leader Lars Klingbeil, stating that neither politician is capable of governing the country. She insisted that the CDU will never win another Bundestag election and stated that the AfD will participate in governing both regional states and the country as a whole.

I am pleased with the political situation in Germany. We are on the path leading to victory. In Saxony-Anhalt we will form a government. The CDU will never win Bundestag elections again.