Far-right AfD party calls for referendum on Germany’s exit from EU
Ahead of key polls in June, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel says if party comes to power, it will make efforts to curb powers of EU's unelected institutions, including European Commission
Co-leader of the AfD party Alice Weidel
BERLIN
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has floated the idea of a referendum on the country’s exit from the European Union, ahead of key elections in June.
The AfD’s co-leader Alice Weidel said once they come to power in Germany, they will undertake efforts to curb the powers of the European Union’s unelected institutions, including the European Commission.
“But if a reform isn’t possible, if we fail to rebuild the sovereignty of the EU member states, we should let the people decide, just as Britain did,” she said in an exclusive interview with the business daily Financial Times.
Weidel said if things reached that point, Germany could hold a “Dexit referendum” on leaving the European Union, just as Britain did in 2016.
Ahead of the European Parliament elections in June, support for the AfD is increasing in Germany, as many voters have expressed frustration with the ruling coalition of Social Democrats, Greens, and Free Democrats.
A poll by YouGov last week showed that the support for the AfD hit an all-time high of 24%, about nine percentage points ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD).
The YouGov’s poll found that 12% of Germans would vote for the Greens, while only 6% would support the liberal Free Democrats.
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