Developments in Germany are historical, where the impressive rise of the patriotic party AfD (Alternative for Germany) is creating a new reality not only for the country but for Europe in general. A new era is beginning with the overthrow of the political establishment. With social discontent increasing and traditional political forces unable to respond to citizens' concerns, the AfD manages to express the demand for change, stability, and national sovereignty. The next period is expected to be crucial, as the data suggests that Germany may be closer than ever to a political shift that was until recently considered unthinkable.
The case of Leif-Erik Holm
Before Leif-Erik Holm became one of the leading figures in the German patriotic sphere, he was a morning drive-time radio DJ in his home region of Eastern Germany. Ahead of the regional elections in Germany in 2026, Holm is now expected to become the AfD's top candidate in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a predominantly rural area bordering Poland and the Baltic Sea.
With polls showing the AfD in first place with 38% in the state, it is one of the places where the party—which is now the largest opposition parliamentary force in the German federal Parliament—is within striking distance of gaining significant governing power for the first time since its founding over a decade ago.
Holm embodies the type of candidate that at least some AfD leaders increasingly want to promote to the top. With a concise style, he avoids the incendiary rhetoric that other party politicians adopt and says he seeks dialogue with his political opponents. When asked what his party would do if it takes power in the state next year, Holm listed a few seemingly innocent proposals: more investment in education, including STEM specialties, and ensuring that immigrant children learn German before starting school. "I'm actually a good guy," Holm said.
Behind the image of the man next door, however, there is a clear political calculation. Party co-leader Alice Weidel is attempting a kind of repositioning, believing that the AfD will not be able to make the leap to real power unless it distances itself from candidates who openly express extreme positions.
This means moving away from controversial leaders such as Björn Höcke—who was found guilty by a court for using a forbidden slogan used by Adolf Hitler's stormtroopers—and Maximilian Krah, who last year said he "would never say that anyone who wore an SS uniform was automatically a criminal."
Instead, the preferred candidate, at least for Weidel and her supporters, is someone like Holm, who can present a more sanitized face of the party. But the transformation proves to be superficial, and even Weidel, despite her national leadership role, cannot prevent the "mask" from slipping.
New appearance, same policy
Since its creation in 2013 as a Euroskeptic party, the AfD has become more extreme, mobilizing its radicalized base primarily around the issue of immigration. Earlier this year, Germany's federal domestic intelligence agency—which has the authority to monitor groups deemed unconstitutional—classified the AfD as an extremist organization.
Weidel is now trying to curb public extremism. The effort aims to make the AfD more acceptable to mainstream conservatives—and to make it harder for the alliance of center-right Chancellor Friedrich Merz to refuse to govern with the party, maintaining the post-war "cordon sanitaire" around the far-right.
Weidel's push for a more polished public image is not necessarily supported by large segments of the party base—especially in the AfD's strongholds in the former East Germany—who point out that the party's rise coincided with its radicalization. The argument is not unfounded. Despite its increasingly extreme rhetoric, the party came second in the snap national elections at the beginning of the year—the best national performance for a far-right party since World War II. In the polls, it now leads Merz's conservatives.
Nevertheless, Weidel is moving forward with the effort to polish the AfD's image. As part of this effort, she has tried to somewhat distance her party from its proximity to the Kremlin—seeking closer ties with Republicans in the US. From now on, the party will "fight on the side of the white knight, not the black knight," as a person familiar with her thinking put it.
In another attempt at rebranding, earlier this year, an extremist youth wing associated with the AfD dissolved itself to prevent a potential ban that could harm the party. Last weekend, a new youth wing was created, over which the party leadership will have direct control.
Other patriotic parties in Europe have made their own rebranding efforts. In France, Marine Le Pen has tried to "normalize" her party—an effort characterized as "de-demonization"—by abandoning the open antisemitism of its founders. As part of this shift, Le Pen quickly distanced her party from the AfD in the European Parliament. In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has moderated her earlier anti-EU and pro-Russian positions.
For the AfD, however, the attempted transformation is less a matter of substance and more a matter of image. Behind Weidel's effort to improve the party's reputation, many of its most extreme voices still hold influence.
Ulrich Siegmund in the state of Saxony-Anhalt
Perhaps no AfD leader embodies this tension more than Ulrich Siegmund, the party's lead candidate in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD leads in the polls with 40% ahead of regional elections next September. It is here, in this small state of just over 2 million inhabitants, where AfD leaders are placing their most significant hopes for entering the state government in 2026—possibly even with an absolute majority.
Like Holm, Siegmund also tries to cultivate an image of a simple, everyday man. Even members of rival parties in the local parliament describe him as friendly and approachable. With over half a million followers on TikTok, he reaches more people than any other state-level politician in Germany.
At the same time, Siegmund is clearly linked to the extreme side of the party. He was one of the participants in a secret meeting of far-right extremists where a "master plan" for the deportation of immigrants and "non-assimilated citizens" was allegedly discussed. When the meeting was revealed last year, it sparked prolonged demonstrations against the far-right across Germany and temporarily lowered the AfD's ratings.
Speaking to Politico, Siegmund downplayed the secret meeting as "coffee talk," arguing that the real scandal is how the media exaggerated the incident. He described himself not as a dangerous extremist, but as a simple man who cares about his country.
"I am a normal citizen, taxpayer, and resident of this country who simply wants a better homeland, especially for his children, for his family, for all our children," Siegmund said. "Because I simply cannot stand by and watch our country develop so negatively in such a short period of time."
But when pressed, Siegmund could not hide his extremism. He defended the use of the slogan "Everything for Germany!"—the forbidden Nazi phrase that landed his colleague Höcke in legal trouble. "I think it goes without saying that you have to give everything for your own country," Siegmund said. "And I think that should also be the benchmark for every politician—to do everything they can for their country, because that's why they were elected and that's why they are paid."
Siegmund also expressed objection to the view that the Nazis committed the greatest crime against humanity in history, and therefore Germans have a special responsibility to avoid such terms. "I find this interpretation blatantly exaggerated and completely detached from reality," he said. "For me, it is important to look forward and not back. And of course, we must always learn from history, but not just from individual aspects of it, but from all of history."
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