SUISSE PERSPECTIVE

Bern, July 5, 2026. The Alternative for Germany held its federal party congress in Erfurt on July 4-5, 2026, despite an unprecedented wave of civic mobilization. Approximately 600 party delegates from the far-right faction had already assembled hours before the official proceedings began, rendering blockade attempts by the coalition dubbed 'Resistance' ineffective.

Between 30,000 people according to police and 50,000 according to organizers converged on the capital of Thuringia. Hundreds of activists occupied strategic intersections, forcing the closure of the A71 highway. Some protesters glued themselves to tram tracks or rappelled from a highway overpass, while counterdemonstrators blocked main access routes to the city, disrupting public transport and traffic arteries.

Police reinforced with personnel from nearly all German states and federal forces had deployed mounted officers and water cannons. Erfurt authorities expressed relief that the night of July 4 proceeded without major incidents. In the streets, banners read 'Stoppt die Brandstifter' (Stop the Arsonists) and 'Gegen Rassismus, Faschismus und Krieg' (Against Racism, Fascism and War), while a large rainbow banner was deployed near the main railway station.

Despite this mobilization, the congress opened on schedule. Delegates reelected both copresidents, Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, who had elevated the AfD to leading opposition force in the 2025 federal elections. In her speech, Weidel asserted: 'We are the new people's party in Germany.' The party displays ambitions for power consolidation in the eastern regions, where regional elections are planned for September. The congress was held in Thuringia, stronghold of a radical faction led by Bjorn Hocke, known for controversial statements regarding Germany's Nazi past.

For Switzerland, Germany's direct neighbor, this confrontation between a party characterized as anti-immigration and pro-Russia and a mass countermovement raises questions about the resilience of democratic mechanisms against populist formations. Neither road blockades nor transport disruptions swayed the internal vote: Weidel and Chrupalla strengthen their grip on a party now positioned as Germany's principal opposition force.