German AfD Chooses Alice Weidel as Leader for Elections

riesa - The party convention of the German political party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has officially chosen Alice Weidel as their candidate for Chancellor.

The party congress of the German political party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has officially chosen Alice Weidel as their candidate for Chancellor. There was no vote on Weidel's candidacy during the congress, but it was not needed as the members unanimously showed their support with a standing ovation.

In her acceptance speech, Weidel criticized the broken traffic light coalition of social democrats, liberals, and greens, as well as the Christian democratic leaders whom she believes are performing poorly in several states. Weidel believes AfD could make Germany "strong, rich, and safe" again.

She also criticized German energy policy, expressing her opposition to windmills and support for Russian gas via the Nord Stream pipeline. Furthermore, she mentioned wanting a different migration policy inspired by the Dutch and Hungarian plans to distance themselves from European asylum policy. She stated, "The German borders are closed."

AfD is currently the second largest party in Germany in the polls, following the Christian democratic CDU/CSU, with around 20 percent of the vote projected for the party.

The congress started over two hours late as attendees were stuck on their way to the venue in Riesa. Outside, around 10,000 protesters had gathered, blocking roads. This led to confrontations with the police in several locations.