On 24 February 2024, an interview with Sahra Wagenknecht, chairwoman of the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht party, appeared in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). FAZ is a German newspaper. In this interview, Wagenknecht stated: “Ms. Weidel does not represent far-right positions but rather conservative and economically liberal ones.” This statement turned out to be false.
This fact-check focuses on the first part of Wagenknecht’s statement, namely, that Alice Weidel does not represent far-right positions. This part is of greater relevance due to the ongoing debate surrounding a potential ban of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). Alice Weidel is the chairwoman of the AfD.
What is far-right extremism?
To understand why Wagenknecht’s statement is not correct, it is first necessary to comprehend the term “far-right.” Axel Salheiser, scientific director of the Institute for Democracy and Civil Society in Jena, defines this term in more detail. He states: “The essential core of far-right extremism includes political and societal beliefs in inequality.”
Socially, this manifests in forms such as xenophobia, nationalism, chauvinism, anti-Semitism, and social Darwinism. Politically, it is characterized by hostility to democracy, the advocacy of an authoritarian dictatorship, and the glorification of National Socialism or other historically fascist regimes.
The AfD has been classified as a suspected far-right extremist organization by Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz). Alice Weidel, along with Tino Chrupalla, is a co-chair of the AfD parliamentary group.
Alice Weidel is the representative of the AfD
Sociologist Axel Salheiser explains: “Ms. Weidel is the figurehead and most prominent representative of this party. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that she herself holds these positions as well.”
In the 2025 federal election campaign, Alice Weidel is running as the AfD’s lead candidate. Salheiser adds that for other party leaders, it would also be unthinkable to question whether they share their party’s core convictions.
Alice Weidel defends Björn Höcke, a fascist and the AfD leader in Thuringia. “He is doing an excellent job in Thuringia. I find the criminal proceedings ridiculous and questionable,” she stated in an interview with Welt. Weidel’s comments refer to Höcke’s multiple court appearances for publicly using Nazi symbols and slogans.
Furthermore, an investigation by Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) revealed that the AfD parliamentary group employs more than one hundred staff members affiliated with organizations classified as far-right by Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. According to BR’s findings, Alice Weidel’s office is not an exception.
Far-right statements
Not only as a representative of the AfD but also through her own statements, Weidel’s far-right positions become evident. For instance, in the Bundestag, she referred to “burqas, headscarf girls, and other good-for-nothings” (min. 07:39). “This is undoubtedly the language of far-right extremism,” says sociologist Axel Salheiser. He explains that the statement reflects her devaluation of Muslim women and her rejection of individuals constructed as foreign, harmful to society, or useless. Consequently, Salheiser asserts that one can assume Alice Weidel herself espouses nationalist or ethnically racist positions.
Weidel also trivializes National Socialism by using the term “cult of guilt”. This phrase has been employed for decades by Nazi sympathizers, anti-Semites, and Holocaust deniers. It questions the consensus that remembering National Socialism and critically addressing it remains a fundamental basis for democratic education.
Additionally, Welt published an email written by Weidel in 2013. In the email, she wrote: “The reason we are being flooded by culturally alien peoples like Arabs, Sinti, and Roma, etc., is the systematic destruction of the bourgeois society as a potential counterweight by enemies of the constitution who govern us.” She also referred to governing politicians as “puppets of the victorious powers of World War II” and questioned Germany’s sovereignty. The email was intended for a former confidant.
“The question of whether Ms. Weidel holds far-right positions is not a matter of opinion,” Salheiser concludes. There is evidence that Weidel holds such positions.
Conclusion
In summary, Sahra Wagenknecht’s statement is false. Alice Weidel represents a party classified as a suspected far-right extremist organization by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. She praises far-right members within the party and has made several far-right statements herself. This strongly indicates that Weidel personally adheres to far-right positions.
RESEARCH | ARTICLE | Lea Ehrenberg, Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart, Germany
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