AfD re-elects Weidel and Chrupalla at Erfurt conference, claims 'new people's party' status

Leadership and programme overhaul

The AfD re-elected its dual leadership at the Erfurt conference. Alice Weidel secured about 81 percent of delegate votes, while co-chair Tino Chrupalla received about 70 percent. In her speech, Weidel declared the party "the new people's party in Germany" and said the AfD was ready to take responsibility. She announced a complete overhaul of the party's basic programme, to be adopted within a year, citing the need to adapt to rapid developments over the past decade.

We are the new people's party in Germany. The AfD is ready to take responsibility, because we, because the Germans, because Germany deserves to be governed well.

Weidel sharply criticised the CDU, accusing it of making policy "against the Germans", and dismissed the SPD as a once-proud workers' party that had faded from history. She also attacked the domestic intelligence agency, claiming it had been used to systematically fight the opposition.

Radical rhetoric and rising stars

Thuringia's AfD leader Björn Höcke opened the conference with a combative speech at 10:53, calling for draconian punishment for paedophilia and warning that Germans must not become "a minority in their own country". His remarks drew loud applause from delegates.

Paedophilia must be punished draconically. We must not become a minority in our own country.

While Höcke spoke, another figure drew attention: Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD's lead candidate in Saxony-Anhalt. The 35-year-old was celebrated like a pop star, posing for selfies and shaking hands. He aims to win an absolute majority in the September state election and become the first AfD minister-president. Polls put the party at about 40 percent in Saxony-Anhalt, within reach of governing alone.

Protests and security measures

The conference was accompanied by large-scale protests. Police estimated around 31,000 demonstrators took to the streets, with some blocking access roads to the Erfurt exhibition centre. The "Widersetzen" alliance had vowed to prevent the conference, but the AfD circumvented the blockades by bussing hundreds of delegates to the venue in the early morning hours, some gathering before 4:00 a.m. The conference started punctually at 10:00 a.m., a contrast to the previous year's delayed start in Riesa.

The early bird catches the worm.

Inside the hall, the mood was buoyant. Delegates waved German flags and cheered as Weidel vowed: "You won't get us down, quite the opposite. We will become ever stronger and bigger."

Electoral prospects

The AfD is currently the strongest party in national polls and leads in several eastern states ahead of September elections. In Saxony-Anhalt, the party stands at about 40 percent, potentially enough for an absolute majority. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, polls show around 35 percent. Chrupalla told delegates: "We will win. Perhaps soon we can govern alone."

The party's financial report noted assets of 45 million euros, including revalued precious metals. The conference also resolved a potential internal conflict early, when Weidel persuaded Höcke to withdraw a motion on revising the party's incompatibility list, promising a review within a year.