As Germany prepares for Sunday’s pivotal federal election, Alice Weidel – the openly lesbian leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) – faces intensified scrutiny over her party’s extremist ties and her personal contradictions. Polls show the anti-immigration AfD could secure second place, with 22% support nationally and over 30% in eastern states.
The Swiss-Residing Nationalist
Weidel campaigns on “securing German borders” while maintaining dual residency in Überlingen, Germany, and Switzerland with her Sri Lankan-Swiss partner Sarah Bossard. This arrangement drew criticism after AfD proposed leaving the EU’s free movement zone. When pressed, Weidel retorted: “I meet all legal requirements to lead Germany” – a stance critics call hypocritical given her party’s demands to “determine who enters our country.”
LGBTQ+ Leader of Anti-LGBTQ+ Party
The AfD’s 2025 platform declares “the traditional family” as society’s nucleus while Weidel raises two children with Bossard via civil partnership. Despite personally opposing same-sex marriage bans, she leads a party that:
- Tried repealing marriage equality in 2017
- Calls gender education “idiocy”
- Proposes banning headscarves as “sexist symbols”
Holocaust Revisionism Controversy
Recent weeks saw Weidel:
- Claim Holocaust education is “politically instrumentalized” against AfD
- Agree with Elon Musk that “Hitler was a communist”
- Defend advisor Roland Hartwig after he attended mass deportation talks
These incidents prompted Vice President J.D. Vance to meet Weidel last week – a move Jewish groups called “dangerous normalization of neo-Nazis”.
The AI Campaign Machine
The AfD leverages artificial intelligence to spread nostalgia-fueled propaganda:
| Tactic | Example |
|---|---|
| AI-generated videos | “Remember beautiful Germany?” depicting blonde families in idyllic settings |
| Algorithmic targeting | Customized immigration scare stories to swing voters |
International Far-Right Alliance
Weidel recently solidified ties with:
- Viktor Orbán (Hungary) during Budapest meeting
- Trump allies through Vance’s endorsement
- Putin sympathizers despite condemning Russia’s war tactics
With 48 hours until polls open, Germany faces its most consequential election since reunification – one testing democratic resilience against AI-powered extremism.
