AfD Re-elects Weidel and Chrupalla amid Mass Protests

At its party convention in Erfurt on Saturday, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) re-elected Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla as co-chairs of the party. Weidel received 81% of the vote, and Chrupalla 70%. Both ran unopposed.

The proceedings were accompanied by large-scale protests, which police said drew approximately 31,000 people. Although demonstrators attempted to block access to the venue, the convention began as scheduled, and some protests escalated into clashes with police.

The AfD came in second in the February parliamentary elections with 20.8% of the vote, and its support in the polls has continued to grow since then. However, traditional political parties continue to refuse to cooperate with the AfD as part of the so-called "firewall" against the far right.

The party is hoping for a significant victory in September's state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, where it aims to win more than 40% of the vote. Chrupalla said the AfD also wants to govern on its own in the near future.

Last year, German counterintelligence designated the AfD as a demonstrably far-right extremist organization, but temporarily suspended this designation following a legal challenge. The party rejects the accusations of extremism, calling them a politically motivated move.

(ap, bak)