Scholz’s Far-Right Rival Puts Germany’s EU Exit on the Ballot

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(Bloomberg) — Alice Weidel, a chancellorship candidate from Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party, criticized the European Union for destroying the country’s auto industry and suggested returning the bloc to a free trade zone.

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“What we need is free trade between European countries, but we don’t need all the bureaucracy,” the co-leader of the second-strongest party in German opinion polls told Bloomberg TV in Berlin. The EU’s “socialist policy making” has “destroyed Europe’s market mechanism.”

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For example, Weidel – the first-ever female Chancellor candidate from the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party – cited Germany’s auto sector, which she said had been “fraudulent” by the EU’s ban on the sale of new combustion-engined vehicles by 2035.

“We don’t need all these bureaucrats who have no idea what they are doing and are destroying our foundation in the European Union,” Weidel said. “We do not see the European Union in its current state as a well-functioning institution.”

In its campaign platform for the early elections scheduled for February 23, the Alternative for Germany party calls for Germany’s exit from the European Union and the eurozone, steps that would represent a major shift in German politics and end decades of political and economic integration. The party also calls for tough measures against illegal immigrants, including the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of people. 422396692

The “Germany First” call has resonated with many voters who feel uneasy about the country’s faltering economy. The anti-immigration party trails only the conservative opposition led by the Christian Democrats, and is ahead of all ruling parties, including the Social Democrats led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

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In the interview, which was recorded on Wednesday, Weidel disputed the description of the party as “far-right,” describing it as “libertarian” and “conservative.”

Three states in the former communist east are classified as extremist and are subject to surveillance by the German domestic intelligence service. The party says that Islam does not belong to the country, and its former leader, Alexander Gauland, described the Nazi period as merely a stain on Germany’s long history.

Weidel said her main priorities, if elected, would be border control, tax cuts and the revival of nuclear power after Germany shuts down the last of its plants in 2023.

However, the chance of implementing these policies is slim because all other parties have ruled out forming a coalition with the AfD. However, the party has had a major influence on political debate in Germany, particularly pushing for a tougher stance on immigration.

The 45-year-old, who has co-chaired the AfD with Tino Shrubala since 2021, called for reforms to EU treaties that allow member states to veto decisions of the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm. She also said that countries should be allowed to leave the European Union, with the default being a free trade partnership rather than going through the distortions that accompanied Brexit negotiations.

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“I highly recommend creating a free trade zone because all the bureaucrats — thousands of them — are eating up taxpayers’ money,” she said.

Weidel, whose party calls for the restoration of trade and political relations with Russia, welcomed the return of Donald Trump to the White House. Her party calls for an end to all military aid to Ukraine, and warns of what AfD officials describe as further military escalation by the West.

She added: “We have high hopes for his presidency.” He added: “I really hope that it will put an end to this terrible war in Ukraine because the European member states are not really willing or able to do something like this.”

The backdrop to the end of the war was the potential resumption of cheap energy supplies from Russia, most notably natural gas. The party, which doubts that climate change is man-made, supports burning coal for power generation at the expense of expanding renewable energy sources.

Weidel played down concerns that Trump would impose tariffs on German automakers. Volkswagen AG, BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz Group AG have built plants there to capitalize on demand from American consumers.

German automakers “are already present in the United States,” she said. “And do you know why? Because of the high energy prices here in Germany.”

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