Orbán supports the far-right AfD in the German elections

BerlinHe Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán Orbán has entered the German election campaign on Wednesday by supporting Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is second in the polls for voting intentions for the German elections on 23 February. Orbán considers the far-right leader to be "the future of Germany". "All points of the AfD programme benefit Hungary, above all on the migration issue," said Orbán at a joint press conference with AfD held in Budapest.

"Mr. Orbán, you are an example to follow. We will follow the path of Hungary," Weidel promised him with only a few days left until the German elections. Weidel considers Hungary to be "a bulwark against illegal immigration." From Budapest, the leader of AfD has attacked German politicians. "Our country, Germany, has been weakened. Weak leadership. Weak economic policy. Angela Merkel has ruined our country," Weidel said of the former German chancellor who opened the country's doors to 1.2 million refugees and asylum seekers between 2015 and 2016.

Weidel also criticised the energy policy of both Merkel and the Greens, coalition partners in the outgoing government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. "The backbone of energy policy has been destroyed, Germany has the highest taxes of the industrialised nations," lamented the far-right candidate, who considers Orbán to be "a symbol of common sense, sovereignty and independence."

With this visit to Budapest, Weidel has thus scored another electoral point, after having also secured the valuable support of the American technology billionaire Elon Musk during the campaign. "Only the AfD can save Germany", said Musk, owner of Tesla and the social network X (formerly Twitter).

AfD moves away from the European far right

Unlike Orbán, Weidel did not take part in the summit of the European far-right that took place last weekend in Madrid. AfD is not part of the Patriotes for Europe group, which includes the parties of France's Marine Le Pen, Italy's Matteo Salvini, the Dutch Geert Wilders and Spain's Santiago Abascal.

AfD MEPs were expelled from the now-defunct far-right group Identity and Democracy (ID) in May 2024 after its head of the list, Maximilian Krah, told an Italian newspaper that not everyone wearing an SS uniform was a criminal. AfD is now part of the Europe of Sovereign Nations group, which is considered to be even more ideologically radical.