Germany’s far right wing populist political party is the AfD—Alterative für Deutschland, which was founded in 2012. The AfD’s unlikely leader is Frauke Petry, a research chemist and entrepreneur who only entered politics in 2013. At 41, she is the mother of four.
Ms. Petry deflects criticism of the AfD—that its very existence raises questions “as to whether Germany has truly learned the lessons of WWII and the Nazi dictatorship,” (according to Der Spiegel) by arguing that the party simply mirrors the failures of Angela Merkel.
“AfD is a child of Merkel’s politics,” she says, “That is what describes us best. We are here because Merkel’s government failed to deal with important topics of society in Germany and Europe.”
Ms. Petry walks a familiar tightrope for all far-right parties in Europe. The dilemma is to find a policy platform that satisfies supporters’ anger at what they consider their disenfranchised position yet keep the party “respectable enough to form a coalition with more centrist parties.”
Read more from The Telegraph about Frauke Petry and the far-right AfD here.
Debbie Young
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