Lesbian leads the far right
The far right’s drubbing in the French election exposed the biggest challenge for European nationalists: convincing voters that they are no longer a bunch of intolerant haters. To argue that point, welcome to the political stage Alice Weidel, the improbable new voice of Germany’s far right.
In person, the cardigan-wearing former investment banker eschews fiery rhetoric in favour of almost academic answers. But there’s something else that distinguishes her from the populist pack. After days spent campaigning for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the 38-year-old lesbian goes home to her partner and two sons.
“My election and my high acceptance within the party show that, contrary to public perception, my party is tolerant,” said Weidel, one of two politicians elected last month to lead the AfD into Germany’s national elections in September.
Weidel’s rise is the latest expression of a growing, if seemingly ironic, trend. In their policies, nationalist movements in the West often oppose full gay rights, including same-sex marriage. But many such parties are increasingly trying to portray themselves as more tolerant than their images suggest, in part by making space for gay men and lesbians.
This, observers say, amounts to an attempt to broaden their appeal — not only to gays but also to voters who view such movements as overtly bigoted and exclusionary.
Opponents call such efforts disingenuous — optics that do not gel with nationalist voting patterns, actions and internal musings on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.
Founded in 2013, on the back of German angst over bailouts for Greece, the AfD morphed during the refugee crisis into an anti-immigrant nationalist movement that has opposed the building of new mosques and advocates leaving the eurozone. Should the AfD crash and burn following losses by nationalists in the Netherlands and France, it would amount to a massive setback for the far right in Europe.
After strong gains last year in local elections, the AfD has taken a severe hit in recent months, with its poll numbers falling to single digits. Its problems came after remarks by one of its prominent politicians, Bjoern Hoecke, who appeared to play down Germany’s Second World War guilt and atrocities.
Besides turning off potential supporters, his comments fuelled a tug of war between moderates and hard-liners for the soul of the party. Caught up in the dispute, Frauke Petry, the face of the party, announced last month she would step aside as its lead candidate. In her place, the AfD elected two replacements: the more moderate Weidel and a hard-liner, Alexander Gauland, 76. Weidel concedes that it was an attempt to appease both sides of the movement.
Since then, some of her fiercest critics have been German gay groups. Markus Ulrich, spokesperson for the Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany, dismissed Weidel’s election as a “clever strategy” meant to distract from the AfD’s hard-line platform.