AFD party leads in race to form government in Germany: For the first time in 80 years, radical party gets lead; Trump’s model adopted in election campaign
Germany is set to hold general elections on February 23. This time the election results are set to be very interesting. Chancellor Olaf Schulz’s ruling SDP coalition is lagging badly in pre-vote surveys. For the first time in 80 years since World War II, the radical Alternative for party (AfD) has grown rapidly.
Currently, the AfD is in second place in the race to form a government. While in the last election, this party was in 7th place. The AfD is campaigning on the model of electing US President Donald Trump. The party’s agenda is also similar to Trump’s agenda. This party has given the slogan of First.
The AfD’s growing popularity can be gauged from the fact that the party won a majority in two out of five provinces in the recent provincial elections. This time too, the AfD is expected to receive a record number of votes in the federal elections.
Germany AfD popular among young people, tough on migrants
The AfD is very popular among young people. About 70% of voters under the age of 50 say they will vote for the AfD. There are about 60 million voters in Germany. The AfD leader, Alice Weidel, is known for her hardline stance on the issue of migration.
Their agenda includes reducing visas for migrants and rethinking relations with the European Union. This means that if the AfD succeeds in forming a government, it will strengthen ties with the US.
Seeing Alice’s growing popularity, the CDU’s Friedrich Merz and the SDP’s Olaf Schulz are now also raising the issue of reducing visas for migrants.
Impact on Indians: Skills and student visas may be reduced
AFD’s victory could prove costly for Indian interests. Recently, Germany announced that it would issue four times more skill visas to Indians this year. German Chancellor Olaf Schulz had said during his visit to India in October that our country needs Indian talent.
But if the radical AfD party wins these elections, then under its Germany First policy, jobs will be given to Germans first. Currently, Germany grants skill visas to 20,000 Indians every year. Schulz had talked about increasing it to 80,000. Currently, 2 lakh 85 thousand Indians live in Germany.
After the AfD government comes to power, there may also be problems with work visas and permanent residence. The number of Indian students in Germany has increased rapidly. There were 25 thousand Indian students in 2021, which has almost doubled in 2024. Indian students in Germany are second in Europe. Indian students in Britain are first.
Putin and Musk are supporting the AfD party
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Tesla CEO Elon Musk are openly supporting the far-right AfD party. Putin says that the AfD’s coming to power will further improve Russia’s relations with Germany. While Musk says that the AfD’s victory will re-emerge Germany as a powerful country in Europe. The AfD’s popularity is increasing with the support of Putin-Musk.
For the first time, people of Indian origin are also contesting elections. Siddharth Mudgal is contesting on the CSU party ticket. His main issue is to improve the German economy and create new employment opportunities for the youth here.