AfD Demands U.S. Troops Leave Germany
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has called for the withdrawal of all US soldiers from the country.
Tino Chrupalla, the far-Right party’s co-leader, told a meeting on Saturday that it was time to remove allied troops and nuclear weapons from Germany in order to pursue an “independent” foreign policy.
“Let’s start implementing this with the withdrawal of US troops from Germany,” he told supporters in Saxony.
Nearly 40,000 American troops are stationed in the country, which hosts more than a dozen major US military installations, including its European Command headquarters.
The Telegraph reported on Friday that Donald Trump was considering pulling US troops out of Germany – something he has been thinking about since returning to office last year.
The US president, who has expressed repeated frustration with Nato allies, has threatened to punish members that do not meet his 5 per cent defence spending demands.
Mr Chrupalla’s comments put him at odds with the Trump administration, particularly over whether America should be able to use German bases for its military activities in the future.
He has previously claimed that Nato serves US interests too much. On Saturday, he also stressed that Germany should not be drawn into foreign wars.
Praising Spain’s decision to block its bases from being used by the US to attack Iran, Mr Chrupalla said: “That’s exactly the right thing to do. Spain is not interfering in this war.”
Germany’s Ramstein Air Base is being used by US forces as a hub to co-ordinate drone and missile strikes against Iran, attracting criticism from opposition politicians who fear the country could be targeted in retaliation.
Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, has also been criticised for not having a consistent policy on the Israeli-US war against Iran.
Last week, he accused Mr Trump of carrying out a “massive escalation” in the conflict, rather than attempting to end the fighting. The rhetoric between Washington and Berlin has become increasingly hostile in recent days.
Surge in support for AfD
A new poll released on Sunday showed the AfD and Mr Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU) were tied for first place among German voters.
While it is not the first time the party has achieved such a poll rating, it does suggest the far-Right’s popularity is proving durable. Such support will make pledges from established German parties never to govern in coalition with the AfD increasingly difficult to honour.
While the CDU and AfD are tied at 26 per cent each, the Social Democrats – currently governing as a junior partner – are still languishing at a historic low of 14 per cent.
The centre-Left Greens were at 12 per cent in the poll, while the liberal Free Democrats were at 3 per cent – less than the electoral threshold required to get any seats at all.
If an election were held today, based on the latest poll numbers, a potentially unwieldy coalition of three of Germany’s main parties would be required to keep the AfD out of power at a federal level.
Meanwhile, a recent state poll in Saxony-Anhalt indicated that the far-Right was within striking distance of an absolute majority at the state level.
The AfD previously sought to court the Trump administration, with Mr Chrupalla attending Mr Trump’s inauguration last year.
However, the US president’s foreign policy, including his military action against Venezuela and Iran, has increasingly distanced the non-interventionist AfD from Washington.