Bundespräsidenten-Wahl: AfD schickt Ex-Fußballer Berthold ins Rennen um Bellevue

Berlin - Former football World Cup winner Thomas Berthold will run as the candidate of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the upcoming election for the German President, according to party leader Tino Chrupalla who announced this on social media platform X. Chrupalla stated that Germany needs an impartial President who can spread a sense of "we" across the country.

Berthold is known and popular, and he stood up against harmful Corona policies during the pandemic "without regard to personal losses". Chrupalla also pointed out that Berthold won the World Cup title in 1990 in Italy. Berthold played 62 international matches, including for VfB Stuttgart and FC Bayern Munich. During the Corona crisis, he spoke at an initiative "Querdenken 711" rally in Stuttgart, criticizing the then policies towards the pandemic.

The Federal Assembly will elect the successor to President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on January 30th. CSU politician Ilse Aigner is expected to secure the majority for the highest office. The nomination of a candidate by the AfD has a largely symbolic meaning, as the AfD does not have a majority in the Federal Assembly. At the 2022 Federal Assembly, the AfD nominated former Values Union chief Max Otte, who later got expelled from the CDU.