Germany news: AfD kicks off conference amid massive protests
07/04/2026 July 4, 2026 AfD meets in Erfurt to elect party leaders Police were removing improvised roadblocks by anti-AfD protesters Image: Sebastian Willnow/dpa/picture alliance Hundreds
07/04/2026 July 4, 2026 AfD meets in Erfurt to elect party leaders Police were removing improvised roadblocks by anti-AfD protesters Image: Sebastian Willnow/dpa/picture alliance Hundreds of AfD delegates have travelled to Germany's Erfurt for a two-day conference which will include them voting on party leadership. Current leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla are expected to keep their seats.
The latest polls indicate the anti-immigrant AfD is now Germany's most popular political party nationwide, with between 27% and 29% support, and clearly ahead Friedrich Merz's ruling conservatives. Even so, the AfD faces enormous pushback from other political camps, who see the faction as far-right extremists. Thousands of protesters marched through Erfurt on Saturday morning, with some of them attempting to block roads and cut off access to the conference venue.
Thuringia an AfD stronghold Erfurt is the state capital of eastern Thuringia, which shows some of the highest polling for the AfD in Germany. The far-right party is the largest faction in Thuringia's regional parliament, although the state is governed by a broad coalition of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the left-wing populist BSW.
Thuringia is also seen as a major stronghold of the more extremist wing of the AfD, centered around lawmaker Björn Höcke. The AfD's state branch in Thuringia was classified as an extremist organization by Germany's federal constitutional protection agency in 2021.
The BriefWire