‘Margaret Thatcher is my role model’ — German far-right AfD leader

BERLIN: Alice Weidel, a leader of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, said the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is her political role model, saying Thatcher got Britain back on its feet when it was facing economic ruin.

Weidel told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag newspaper that her party, which stormed into parliament for the first time after capturing nearly 13 percent of the vote, aimed to be ready to join a coalition government by 2021.

That could be a long shot since all mainstream parties have rejected working with the AfD.

Weidel said the party was content serving in opposition now, but its long-term goal was to shape policy, and Thatcher’s experience in Britain was a helpful guide.

“Margaret Thatcher is my political role model,” Weidel told the newspaper, lauding the UK leader’s willingness to swim against the current when necessary.

“Thatcher took over Great Britain when the country was economically in the dumps and built it up again.”

Weidel, a lesbian, said her partner and two adopted sons would move to Berlin from Switzerland when the partner’s current film project was completed. — Reuters