Joachim-Friedrich Martin Josef Merz is a German politician serving as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 31 January 2022 and as leader of the parliamentary group of CDU/CSU (Union) as well as the Leader of the Opposition in the Bundestag since 15 February 2022. In September 2024,Merz became the Union's designated candidate for Chancellor of Germany for the 2025 federal election.
Federal elections were held in Germany on 24 September 2017 to elect the members of the 19th Bundestag. At stake were at least 598 seats in the Bundestag,as well as 111 overhang and leveling seats determined thereafter.
Alternative for Germany is a far-right and right-wing populist political party in Germany. The AfD is Eurosceptic,and opposes immigration into Germany,especially Muslim immigration. The name of the party reflects its resistance to policies of Angela Merkel with her insistence on German:Alternativlosigkeit. The German judiciary has classified the party as a "suspected extremist" party.
Bernd Lucke is a German economist,professor,author and former politician. He was a co-founder of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in 2013 and served as the party's federal chairman until July 2015 when he was displaced and left the party soon after. He had been elected a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for AfD in 2014 and served the five year full term,as member of various other new parties,similar to some other former AfD MEPs.
Identity and Democracy was a far-right political group of the European Parliament,launched on 13 June 2019 for the Ninth European Parliament term. It comprised far right,right-wing populist,Eurosceptic and nationalist national parties from six European states. It was the successor to the Europe of Nations and Freedom group formed during the eighth term and almost all of its members merged into the Patriots for Europe group formed during the tenth term.
Tino Chrupalla is a German politician from the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD). A member of the German Parliament (Bundestag) since 2017,he has served as co-chairman of the AfD since 2019 along with Alice Weidel. In November 2019,Chrupalla was nominated by Alexander Gauland to replace the latter as co-chairman of the AfD;he later won election as co-chair.
Waldemar Herdt is a German politician for the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and former member of the Bundestag (2017–2021).
Martin Hess is a German politician for the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) and since 2017 member of the Bundestag. He is the deputy domestic policy spokesperson for his parliamentary group.
Stefan Keuter is a German politician for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and a member of the Bundestag since 2017.
The 2024 European Parliament election in Germany was held on 9 June 2024. It was the tenth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979,and the first European Parliament election after Brexit.
Der Flügel is a far-right faction within Germany's Alternative for Germany,a right-wing populist opposition party. The group was led by Björn Höcke and Andreas Kalbitz. Approximately 20 percent of AfD members are organized also in the "Flügel". Following the request by the AfD executive board to dissolve Der Flügel by the end of April 2020,the group's online presence went offline. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) has no reliable knowledge of an actual dissolution. Within the party,Der Flügel now calls itself the "social-patriotic faction".
A large part of the right-wing populist and far-right German party Alternative for Germany (AfD) supports Russia,its foreign policy,and its allies.
Maximilian Eugen Krah is a German lawyer and politician. He is serving as a member of the European Parliament without a delegation or faction being a member of right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Amira Mohamed Ali is a German politician and member of the Bundestag since 2017. From 12 November 2019 till October 2023,she was the parliamentary co-chairperson of The Left alongside Dietmar Bartsch. In October 2023,she left The Left alongside others like Sahra Wagenknecht to found a new party. Mohamed Ali is the chairwoman of the board of the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht-Association which was founded to prepare a new party in January 2024.
Frank Pasemann is a German politician. He got excluded from the party in 2020. Pasemann has served as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Saxony-Anhalt since 2017.
Dirk Spaniel is a German politician. Dirk Spaniel has served as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Baden-Württemberg since 2017.
Federal elections in Germany will be held on 23 February 2025 to elect the 630 members of the 21st Bundestag. Originally scheduled for 28 September 2025,the elections were brought forward due to the collapse of the governing coalition during the 2024 German government crisis. It is the fourth snap election in the history of post-war Germany after those in 1972,1983 and 2005.
Starting in 2016,Russia has made efforts to influence European politics,in particular,to promote Russian goals,to undermine support for Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian War,and to destabilize Europe. An important organization in these efforts is the Voice of Europe,a media outlet led by Viktor Medvedchuk and Artem Marchevsky. The Voice of Europe was established in May 2023,headquartered in Prague. Early investigations by Czech authorities determined that the Voice of Europe was one of several uncovered influence operations on European politics. In 2024 the Czech Secret Intelligence Service (BIS) uncovered a Russian state-financed pro-Russian influence network with the public outlet Voice of Europe,using right-wing and Eurosceptic politicians to influence the European elections and other elections. The network is suspected to have bribed several European politicians from different countries.
RenéAust is a German politician of the Alternative for Germany (AfD). He entered the state parliament of Thuringia after the state elections of 27 October 2019. In the 2024 European Parliament election he came third on his party's list and entered the European Parliament.
