The right-wing party has reportedly axed talk of ‘remigration’ and ‘German guiding culture’ from its program to woo moderate voters
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has softened its anti-immigration rhetoric in a bid to appeal to moderate voters and prove itself capable of forming a government down the road, the outlet Bild has claimed.
Founded back in 2013, the right-wing party has steadily gained in popularity amid the continuing migrant crisis in Germany. It finished second in the federal elections in February, winning 152 seats in the 630-seat Bundestag. In April, a survey by the pollster Forsa indicated that it enjoyed the support of 26% of respondents, ahead of all the other parties in Germany.
In an article on Saturday, Bild claimed to have seen a new seven-point policy paper that the AfD’s parliamentary group was expected to adopt that same day.
Conspicuously absent from the document are calls for the “remigration” of German residents with a migrant background, as well as an insistence on the “German guiding culture,” according to the outlet.
Bild claimed that the terms had specifically been axed from the party program in order to “reach more moderate voters,” and “appear capable of governing by the next federal election” in 2029. Aside from these purported changes, the AfD also reportedly intends to adopt a code of conduct for its lawmakers in the Bundestag.
The party’s interim goal is to gain ground in next year’s regional elections, Bild reported.
The media outlet claimed that the updated program calls for an end to asylum-granting to refugees at the border, tougher naturalization requirements and less social welfare for migrants.
The party also reportedly seeks to slash taxes, lift a self-imposed ban on the use of nuclear power plants, and restore the Nord Stream pipelines. The conduits, which used to carry Russian natural gas, were destroyed by a targeted underwater explosion in 2022. Berlin has since ruled out restoring them to operation.
According to Bild, the right-wingers want Germany’s foreign policy to be guided by the motto “Germany first,” which would presumably entail an end to weapons deliveries to Ukraine and the lifting of sanctions against Russia.
In a post on X on Sunday, the AfD Bundestag group revealed that its members had convened for a “closed meeting” over the weekend to set “political goals for the coming period.”
The party was declared a “confirmed right-wing extremist entity” by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency in May, only for the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) to suspend the label shortly thereafter.
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