GERMANY PERSPECTIVE

Berlin, July 5, 2026. Despite massive mobilization, the AfD's federal congress opened on schedule at 10:00 a.m. Co-chairman Tino Chrupalla immediately celebrated the outcome: "Counterprotesters failed their own sabotage attempt. We can begin on time." Delegates had been instructed to arrive early to circumvent blockades before they could be erected.

In Erfurt's streets, resistance had nevertheless organized on a large scale. Police anticipated up to 50,000 opponents; more than 200 buses of protesters had converged on the city. Approximately 300 people blocked the A71 highway, forcing its partial closure. At Gothaer Platz, 800 demonstrators conducting a sit-in disrupted the tramway network, with some chained to the rails. Pyrotechnic devices were fired at police and an AfD local office.

Inside the Erfurt Exhibition Center, the contrast was striking. The FAZ describes a party running through its agenda in what seems "nearly routine fashion." Bernd Baumann, parliamentary director, expressed satisfaction that the AfD had become a "well-oiled machine." ZEIT Online notes that this discipline—arriving before barriers were erected—illustrates the party's new professionalization.

Alice Weidel was reconfirmed as co-chair with 81.3% of votes, a slight increase from her 79.8% in 2024. Tino Chrupalla received just 70.0%—down from 82.7% at the Essen congress two years earlier, a drop of more than twelve points. Neither faced opposition. In her address, Weidel focused on economics—"We will finally bring true free-market economics"—before energizing the hall on immigration: "We will deport rigorously!"

German media frames this congress within an urgent electoral context. The September regional election in Saxe-Anhalt is closely watched: Ulrich Siegmund, 35, an AfD candidate with a more consensus-oriented style, could command an absolute majority according to polling. Tagesschau notes the congress was deliberately "stripped of substantive content"—no new fundamental program before 2027—to avoid missteps before these votes.

Questions about future leadership direction run through analyses. ZEIT Online suggests the newly elected, younger executive board oriented toward Weidel could signal a transition toward single leadership. The Verfassungsschutz, which classifies portions of the party as documented right-wing extremism, is closely monitoring newly elected officials.