Leaked emails show AfD co-leader’s U-turn on ‘explosive’ nationalist colleague

Key Points:

• A massive leak of over 420,000 emails and 48,000 documents has revealed that Alice Weidel, a leading figure in Germany’s far-right AfD party, privately condemned Björn Höcke for using racist and Nazi-era language while initially seeking his expulsion from the party.
• The leaked communications show Weidel warning that Höcke’s extremist rhetoric was alienating mainstream conservative voters and risking the party’s classification as a right-wing extremist organization by Germany’s domestic intelligence service.
• Despite her early opposition, Weidel later praised Höcke’s leadership, blocked formal records of her expulsion motion against him, and publicly supported him, even suggesting he would be suitable for a federal cabinet position.
• The AfD confirmed the hack and condemned the leak as an attack on democracy, while the anonymous hackers stated their aim was to promote transparency and public accountability, not to support any political party.
• The revelations provide rare insight into internal conflicts within the AfD, highlighting tensions between efforts to maintain mainstream appeal and the influence of extremist elements linked to neo-Nazi ideology.