The AfD could call a Brexit-style referendum on Germany's EU membership if it comes to power and fails to reform the bloc, said Alice Weidel, co-chair of the AfD. In an interview with the Financial Times. He said the British withdrawal was an example to Germany that someone could make a sovereign decision like this.
According to Weidel, who has led the AfD since 2022, they will work in government to reform the European Union and eliminate the “democratic deficit,” including by reducing the powers of the European Commission. But if reform is not possible and the sovereignty of member states is not rebuilt, according to Fidel, the decision should be left to the people, as they did with the British. “And then there may be a referendum on Britain's exit from the European Union,” he said, referring to the name similar to Germany's exit from the European Union.
The Financial Times adds that raising the idea was considered a dangerous taboo in Germany, where all the most important parties are committed to the European Union. The German constitution also includes strict restrictions on referendums, and even if they were held, opinion polls clearly indicate that the overwhelming majority of German society would want to remain in the European Union.
However, it can also be noted that among voters of the AfD, which is now the second most powerful party in the country, the majority of pro-EU voters is the lowest. In a poll published by the Financial Times, only 10% of all German voters would leave the European Union, and 90% would vote to remain. On the other hand, the percentage within the AfD camp is 45-55 in favor of supporters of the European Union.
Over the weekend, hundreds of thousands demonstrated in major German cities on both days to protest the AfD and its xenophobic stance. The wave of protests was sparked by media reports that a far-right meeting was held in Germany last November, attended by representatives of the AfD, where the deportation of millions of migrants was discussed. At the meeting in Potsdam, politicians from the Alternative for Germany party and the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) spoke about bringing back migration.
The case became a huge scandal, and more seriously than ever, it was suggested that the government or parliament could take the initiative to ban the AfD. We wrote here that this would be very difficult from a legal standpoint, but the risk is greater politically: the start of the measure could radicalize AfD supporters and opponents. We wrote here in detail how the AfD became the second most popular party in Germany. Its rate is 23 percent In surveys.
