Leaked emails show AfD co-leader’s U-turn on ‘explosive’ nationalist colleague

In the wake of a massive leak of internal Alternative for Germany (AfD) communications, a striking contrast in the stance of co-leader Alice Weidel emerges. Decades ago, while climbing the ranks of the far-right party, Weidel privately denounced one of the party's most influential figures, Björn Höcke, for using racist arguments and Nazi-era language.

She sought to have him expelled from the party. However, years later, Weidel has praised Höcke's leadership and dismissed as "exaggerated" a bid to ban him from the party, stating that he is suitable for a federal cabinet position.

These discrepancies in her position regarding Höcke were revealed through over 420,000 emails and roughly 48,000 documents stolen by hackers and released to promote "transparency and public accountability." The AfD confirmed the breach, deeming it an "attack on the German party system and therefore on democracy itself." While Weidel declined to comment on the shift in her position, Höcke's spokesperson did not provide a response to inquiries from POLITICO.

The leaked emails reveal that Weidel was deeply alarmed by Höcke's growing influence, characterized by an ethnically defined German nationalism with Nazi-era ideas. She warned that Höcke's rhetoric and the party's proximity to extremist groups were driving away mainstream conservative voters. Weidel even brought a motion to expel Höcke from the AfD in 2017, accusing him of using "vocabulary from Adolf Hitler" and endorsing the "Führerprinzip."

However, Höcke later acknowledged his speech as a mistake and asked the leadership to withdraw the motion against him. Despite these private misgivings, Weidel publicly welcomed Höcke's letter and campaigned alongside him, suggesting that her initial concerns had somewhat dissipated over time.