Diana Zimmer, a 26-year-old business studies graduate, is running for the Bundestag in Pforzheim, Germany, hoping to become the first direct AfD candidate elected in western Germany. The party, which has seen a surge in popularity in recent years, is focusing on issues like immigration and economic anxieties.
Diana Zimmer hopes to be the first direct candidate elected in western Germany for the far-right AfD. Photograph: Reuters’s federal election on Sunday. The 26-year-old business studies graduate is running for the Bundestag in her home town of Pforzheim, near Stuttgart, and hopes to be the first-ever direct candidate elected in western Germany for the far-right Alternative for Germany .
“We need to put a stop sign before this madness ... and we’re gaining prominent support thanks to Elon Musk giving us attention around the world,” said Zimmer. At a recent campaign appearance, she made a final pitch to voters: “Trust us and we will show what we can do for Germany – Germany first.”America divided: Musk and Trump on Fox News, Sanders on CNN
Many see in Pforzheim an early indicator of what lies ahead for the rest of western Germany’s post-industrial belt. Adding to the anger and tension is a series of fatal attacks in recent months with asylum seekers as chief suspects. For local analysts, a decade of political debate over migration has yet to see voters get convincing answers from established parties.
Back in Pforzheim, centre-right CDU politician Gunther Krichbaum agrees that the rise of the AfD here and this campaign’s focus on migration have their roots in voter uncertainty. “People trusted Angela Merkel because she led people through many difficult storms. The outgoing ‘traffic light’ coalition bickered for years, which has lead to huge levels of insecurity,” he said.
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