Planning for 2018 elections underway at ‘Alternative for Germany’ party conference
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) will begin its weekend conference today. The party, which has been dealing with infighting, will look to solidify its leadership.
The conference comes on the heels of the collapse of the Jamaica coalition talks and two months after the AfD’s best electoral performance ever. With 94 seats in the Bundestag, the ultra-conservative, anti-immigration party is now Germany’s third largest.
Likely to be discussed is the country’s current political uncertainty. More than nine weeks after the national election, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s prospects of forming a majority coalition are slim, while those of a fresh election next year are looking more probable.
Due to the instability of the political “centre”, expect a new vote to strengthen fringe parties, such as the AfD, and erode support for parties like the CDU and the SPD. Such a result would decrease the possibility of a grand coalition, forcing Merkel to either turn to AfD, which is incredibly unlikely, or govern in a minority.
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