The leading candidate, Friedrich Merz, a conservative who has adopted many of the AfD’s hard-line positions on immigration, used his closing statement of the debate to promise his voters that he would never allow the AfD into his government. Under him, he said, the firewall would hold.

Germany’s federal elections took place this weekend, with the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) winning overall and set to form a coalition government.

Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) leader Alice Weidel is a striking contrast to the party she represents. A gay woman raising two sons with her Sri Lankan-born partner, she leads a party that opposes same-sex marriage and champions 'traditional family values'.

Elon Musk has continued his public association with Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, sending a congratulatory post on X to the party’s co-chair Alice Weidel following the election results last night in Germany.

The Christian Democrats won with 28.6% of the vote while the far-right Alternative for Germany came second with 20.8%.

Gemany's far-right AFD leader Alice Weidel enjoyed the vocal support of several international far-right figures ahead of this Sunday's legislative elections in which her party scored its

As Germany heads to the polls, here is all you need to know about Alice Weidel, who is AfD's first-ever candidate for the post of Chancellor.

In a relationship with a woman of foreign origin, the AfD leader nonetheless assumes an anti-immigration rhetoric and unabashedly makes references to the Third Reich. This position has earned her the endorsement of Elon Musk and US Vice President JD Vance,

As an openly gay politician who lives with her Sri Lanka-born partner in Switzerland, Alice Weidel was an unusual choice to many to lead Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) into Sunday's elections, where it scored its best-ever result.

Alice Weidel, the leader of German far-right party AfD, held secret meetings with Chinese envoy to Germany for years. It has also emerged that she was on China’s payroll for several years.

On Sunday, the country’s residents will vote in a pivotal election in which Ms Weidel's party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), is tipped to come in second. A snap election was called at the end of last year by current Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), when his coalition Government fell apart.