The head of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) delegation in the European Parliament, René Aust, is counting on at least 21% of the votes in Sunday’s general election, but played down suggestions it might leave Europe of Sovereign Nations for larger Patriots for Europe group
The far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) is ready to enter a coalition after the national elections on Sunday, 23 February, its leading MEP René Aust told Euronews in an exclusive interview.
While all German parties have committed to excluding any kind of cooperation with AfD through the so-called Brandmauer (firewall), Aust said the far-right party—currently polling in second place—would be available to “talk to almost everyone” in order to “join a coalition where we can realize our promises on migration, taxation, and so on”.
He is betting on AfD receiving between 21% and 23% of the vote and hopes that other political forces will be ready to cooperate after the election. “If the others say they don’t want to talk, they have to explain it to the public,” he said.
Aust claimed AfD would support any legislaton it considers “good for the people”, regardless of who proposes it. “We don’t care if it comes from the Greens or from the left,” he said.
Fewer migrants, more weapons
Alternative for Germany is heading for its strongest result ever with an electoral campaign focused on the idea of “remigration”, a wide range of measures and incentives for the return of irregular migrants to their country of origin.
AfD is demanding enhanced border protection and a stricter asylum policy that would allow Germany to send many refugees back to Syria and Afghanistan.
On additional funding for the military, which is a live debate in Germany, René Aust has clear ideas. “If you cut [public expenditure] on climate, gender, LGBTQ, migration [programmes], you will have money to lower taxes, have more social programs for elderly people, and also more money for our military,” he says.
AfD believes that the German army needs major restructuring, and says he is not necessarily against taking on more debt to finance military expenditure—but only as a last resort.
“The first thing we have to do is to get our priorities straight in our public spending. And if there is a necessity for a short period of time to have a little bit more debt for defense capabilities, then we can discuss it,” Aust said.
“Europe has no leader”
Asked if he agrees with Donald Trump’s strategy to end the war in Ukraine, Aust praises the peace talks in Saudi Arabia. The European establishment is “more or less hostile [to] the idea of diplomatic talks,” the German nationalist said.
Aust argues that the European Union is isolating itself and has no leader capable of engaging face-to-face with Trump. “Von der Leyen is not supported by public opinion. She is not the leader of Europe because the true power lies in the European Council,” he said.
Neither the current German chancellor Olaf Scholz nor Emmanuel Macron are fit for the role, in Aust’s view. “Macron did a little bit of a show, but as you could see, there are no results,” he said said of recent meetings in Paris.
Far-right colleague invited on election night
René Aust confirmed to Euronews that some representatives from other European far-right parties have been invited to an election night gathering at AfD’s headquarters in Berlin.
“We invited all our partners [from the Europe of Sovereign Nations group of which AfD is a member], and others from the Patriots for Europe [PfE] group, for example, FPÖ (The Freedom Party of Austria) and [the Spanish party] Vox.”
This suggests a willingness to enhance cooperation with Hungarian premier Viktor Orbán’s PfE, which some lawmakers believe could lead to AfD joining the group.
ADVERTISEMENTAsked about this possibility, Aust was adamant that his party would remain in the ESN group, but was ready to cooperate with others in the European Parliament. “We supported a lot of Patriots’ initiatives, but we are also ready to have good relations with the ECR and the EPP,” he said.
