Who is Alice Weidel? Germany's gay, far-right AfD leader

Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) leader Alice Weidel is a striking contrast to the party she represents. A gay woman raising two sons with her Sri Lankan-born partner, she leads a party that opposes same-sex marriage and champions 'traditional family values'.Weidel’s leadership has coincided with a rise in support for the AfD, making it Germany’s most successful far-right party since World War II. In the national elections, the party secured over 20% of the vote, finishing second only to Friedrich Merz’s conservative CDU/CSU alliance on Sunday.'Adult in the room'Weidel was born in Gütersloh, West Germany. She studied business and economics before working at Goldman Sachs and later the Bank of China. She spent six years in China, where she earned a doctorate and became fluent in Mandarin. Unlike many in her party, she is from the West, while the AfD draws most of its strength from the former East Germany.Weidel’s career path sets her apart from the party’s typical membership, but analysts say her business-like image helps the AfD appeal to middle-class voters. “She seems like the adult in the room among all these lunatics and extremists,” Oliver Lembcke, a political scientist at the University of Bochum, was quoted as saying to Reuters news agency.Anti-immigration stanceWeidel has fully embraced the AfD’s nationalist and anti-immigration stance. She originally joined the party due to its opposition to eurozone bailouts but later shifted her focus towards migration and German identity politics.She has described immigrants as “burqas, girls in headscarves, knife-wielding men on government benefits and other good-for-nothing people,” reports Reuters.Her statements faced widespread criticism but struck a chord with the party’s supporters. At a conference earlier this year, she called for the “large-scale repatriation of foreigners,” emphasising each syllable: “re-mi-gra-tion,” as the crowd cheered.Weidel has also questioned climate change, expressed scepticism about Covid vaccines, and endorsed the far-right “Great Replacement” theory, which claims that elites are deliberately replacing native populations with immigrants, often targeting white Europeans.In an online discussion with billionaire Elon Musk, she claimed that the Nazis were “not right-wing” and described Hitler as “a communist, socialist guy," reports Sky news. AfD 'firmly anchored' in German politicsAt an AfD rally on Sunday, Weidel said that the party was now “firmly anchored” in Germany’s political system after securing second place in national elections. She also warned mainstream parties that if they refused to cooperate with the AfD, “we will surpass them in the next election.”Despite her personal life clashing with the party’s conservative ideals, Weidel has avoided focusing on her identity. She has dismissed same-sex marriage as unimportant and refuses to label herself as queer. She claims that the AfD is the only party willing to address hostility towards gay people from Muslim immigrants.Nazi grandfather Weidel’s family history has come under scrutiny. Her grandfather, Hans Weidel, was a Nazi judge appointed by Adolf Hitler, something she says she only discovered through researchers, German newspaper Die Welt reported. Despite this, she continues to push for stricter immigration laws and a referendum on EU membership.Weidel sees former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as her role model. She wants Germany to hold a Brexit-style referendum on EU membership if the bloc cannot reform what she calls its "democratic deficit."