Alternative for Germany (AfD) party

Germany's left-wing Die Linke struggles to form coalition as anti-Israel controversy swirls

Die Linke came first in the elections to the capital's parliament, which is also a federal state, winning 25.7% of the vote and 45 of the 153 seats, marking a political upheaval in Berlin.

|ByYOAV ETIEL
The Berlin state parliament building (Abgeordnetenhaus Berlin) stands on September 5, 2026 in Berlin, Germany.
Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnacht) survivor George Shafi, 95, poses in front of the Neue Synagoge in Berlin on November 5, 2026, ahead of commemorations of the November 1938 Pogroms.

WATCH: Police leaders gather in Berlin to address rising antisemitism for Kristallnacht anniversary

German Police Union chair Jochen Kopelke, who participated in the March of the Living earlier this year, lit a torch at the ceremony dedicated to the fight against antisemitism.

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
The Brandenburg Gate is illuminated in the colours of Israel and the Star of David, in Berlin, Germany November 9, 2023. The message is reading "Never again is now".

Germany's Holocaust remembrance is becoming a political performance - comment

The memory of six million murdered Jews has become part of Germany's national identity. Yet the solemn promise of “Never again” is all too often followed by the familiar words “We strongly condemn.”

|ByNINA POGREBNAYA
German Chancellor and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party leader, Friedrich Merz, walks to attend a press conference, after the state elections, in Berlin, Germany, September 21, 2026.

Merz warns that Germany faces pressure from extremist parties, 'massive threat' from Russia

Speaking at a party conference of the Christian Social Union (CSU), Merz said the parties had the responsibility to push through economic reforms to reinforce Germany's social stability.

|ByREUTERS

Germany's new challenges 80 years after VE day: AfD, antisemitism, and new politics

EUROPE AFFAIRS: The political climate in Germany is shifting as the AfD rises in power, raising concerns about the future of Holocaust memory and the country’s commitment to Shoah remembrance.

MAY 10, 2025ByKONSTANTIN NOWOTNY
‘YOU CAN’T ban 10 million AfD voters.’ Amid the tensions in Germany over the rise of the far right, new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stands at the Neue Wache Memorial for Victims of War and Tyranny during commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

German spy agency pauses 'extremist' classification for AfD party, local court says

The BfV won't refer to the AfD as a "right-wing extremist movement" until the court ruleson an AfD motion to issue a temporary injunction.

MAY 8, 2025ByREUTERS
Far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Alice Weidel looks on, as she and AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla (not pictured) give a statement, in Berlin, Germany, March 12, 2025.

AfD files lawsuit against German spy agency's extremist classification

The extremist classification allows the spy agency to step up monitoring of the AfD, for example, by recruiting informants and intercepting party communications.

MAY 5, 2025ByREUTERS
Far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla give a statement in Berlin, Germany. March 12, 2025.

German spy agency ranks far-right AfD 'extremist'

The status should make it easier for authorities to use secret methods to monitor the party.

MAY 2, 2025ByREUTERS
A supporter of Alternative for Germany (AfD) party does a Hitler salute during a protest against the government in Berlin, Germany.

German parties form gov't that excludes AfD, far-right party that worries many Jews

AfD will not be part of Germany's government, despite coming in second during national elections earlier this year.

APRIL 9, 2025ByPHILISSA CRAMER/JTA
ROBERT SESSELMANN of the far-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a vote last Sunday to become a district leader, a breakthrough for the party which has hit record highs in national polls.

Germany’s political shift: Why the real threat isn’t the far Right – opinion

Voters in Germany are rejecting a left-wing movement that has lost its moral compass.

MARCH 2, 2025ByGREGORY LYAKHOV
Co-leader of The Left (Die Linke) party Heidi Reichinnek speaks to the media, next to the Leader of The Left Group in the Bundestag Soeren Pellmann, on the day of their parliamentary fraction meeting following the German general elections in Berlin, Germany, February 25, 2025.

Where will Merz take Germany after electoral victory? - analysis

For Merz, depending on the support of the AfD will be far too risky.

FEBRUARY 23, 2025ByELDAD BECK
German conservative candidate for chancellor and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party leader Friedrich Merz reacts after the exit poll results are announced for the 2025 general election, in Berlin, Germany, February 23, 2025.

Vance faces backlash in Munich for defending Germany’s far Right AfD - opinion

Vance had met on Friday with the leader of AfD, after endorsing the party as a political partner, a stance Berlin dismissed as 'unwelcome election interference.'

FEBRUARY 20, 2025BySHERWIN POMERANTZ
US VICE President JD Vance delivers a speech at the Munich Security Conference last week. He took the opportunity to tell the audience that in a democratic society, no party should be ostracized. He also met with the leader of the AfD after endorsing the party as a political partner the writer notes

Russian-linked bots sow fear, distrust ahead of German vote, researchers find

Cyber experts warn that Russian bots are flooding social media with fake terror threats ahead of Germany’s election.

FEBRUARY 12, 2025ByREUTERS
People attend an election campaign event of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Heidenheim, Germany, February 9, 2025.

Friedrich Merz: The German leader trying to bury Angela Merkel’s legacy - analysis

Friedrich Merz broke a political taboo by aligning with the AfD on immigration, winning a symbolic vote but facing backlash and a major legislative defeat.

FEBRUARY 2, 2025ByELDAD BECK
German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz speaks during a session of the lower house of parliament Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, October 10, 2024.