A federal election in Germany is set to take place on February 23, to elect the 630 members of the 21st Bundestag. This will be the fourth snap election in post-war Germany, following those in 1972, 1983, and 2005. Initially scheduled for September 28, 2025, the election was moved up after the collapse of the governing coalition during the 2024 German government crisis.
The most interesting element about the coming German election is the idea of Remigration, promoted mostly by the right, a political concept referring to the forced expulsion or promoted return of non-ethnically European immigrants, often including their descendants who were born in Europe, back to their place of racial origin, typically with no regard for whether or not they have acquired citizenship in their new home countries.
In the lead-up to the election, most media outlets have predicted that the center-right Christian Democratic CDU/CSU will take first place, with the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) in second and the Social Democrats (SPD) in third.
Based on polling from February 10 to 12 of a representative sample of 1,579 eligible voters, The CDU/CSU has slightly expanded its lead to 32%, marking a 1% increase. The right-wing (a.k.a. far-right and populist) Alternative for Germany (AfD) remains in second place with 21%. SPD and the Greens are far behind with 14% each.
In January 2024, the left-wing investigative group Correctiv reported that members of the AfD had secretly met with far-right figures from Germany and Austria in November 2023 to discuss a remigration plan aimed at deporting immigrants, including naturalized German citizens.
The AfD quickly distanced itself from the meeting, stating that it was not responsible for the discussions and that its members had attended in a personal capacity. Alice Weidel, the party’s co-chairwoman, parted ways with Roland Hartwig, an advisor who had attended the meeting.
The reported plan was widely condemned by German politicians, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The revelations led to protests across Germany, with demonstrators calling for a ban on the AfD. Following the controversy, the AfD was expelled from the Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the European Parliament. EKRE, a party from Estonia, supported the expulsion of one AfD member, Krah, but opposed removing the entire AfD delegation.
In 2016, AfD MEP Marcus Pretzell was expelled from the party after suggesting that German borders should be defended against refugee incursions “with armed force as a measure of last resort.” Later that same year, former AfD party chair and MEP Frauke Petry made headlines when she told a reporter from the regional newspaper Mannheimer Morgen that the German Border Police must carry out their duty of “hindering the illegal entry of refugees” and could “use firearms if necessary” to “prevent illegal border crossings.”
Petry later clarified her remarks, stating that no police officer “wants to fire on a refugee” and that she didn’t want that either. However, she maintained that border police must follow the law to uphold the integrity of European borders. Following the controversy, Petry made several attempts to justify her statements.
