Openly gay, Swiss resident, ex-Goldman banker: Meet Alice Weidel, the 'ice princess' leading Germany's far-right surge

AfD's 43.8% victory changes the political equation : The Alternative for Germany, or AfD, won 43.8% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, more than twice the 17.2% secured by Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democrats. It took 39 of the 83 seats in the state parliament.

That leaves the AfD just three seats short of a majority. The question now is whether it can find enough support to govern, with Germany's mainstream parties facing renewed pressure over the political "firewall" that has kept the AfD out of government.

The Alice Weidel paradox: Her family life versus AfD policy : Weidel's background makes her an unusual figure at the top of a European far-right party. 

She is openly gay and has been in a relationship with Sarah Bossard, a Swiss film producer born in Sri Lanka, since 2009. They are raising two children, and their family lives in Switzerland.

That private life has repeatedly drawn attention because parts of the AfD's programme take a different approach to family and LGBTQ+ policy.

Alice Weidel's Personal Life AfD's Official Political Position : Openly Gay: In a same-sex registered partnership with Sarah Bossard.Traditional Family Model: Promotes traditional family structures and opposes expanding LGBTQ+ policies.

Partner's Background: Partner was born in Sri Lanka and raised in Switzerland. Hardline Anti-Immigration: Campaigns for strict border controls, "remigration", and reduced immigration.

Same-Sex Parenting: Raising two children together with her partner. 

Family Definition: Party policy explicitly defines the traditional family strictly around a father, mother, and children.

Swiss Residence: The family home is located in Switzerland while holding an official residence in Germany, National Sovereignty: Strongly emphasises German borders, national identity, and sovereignty.

Weidel rejects claims that her personal life makes her political position contradictory. She has argued that tighter immigration controls would make gay people safer and has previously said that expanding same-sex marriage rights was not a political priority for her.

From Goldman Sachs and China to Germany's far right

Weidel's route into politics was far from conventional. She studied economics and business before working for Goldman Sachs. She later spent time in China, learned Mandarin and completed a doctorate focused on China's pension system.

She joined the AfD in 2013, when the young party was largely known for its opposition to eurozone bailouts. As the AfD moved towards tougher positions on immigration, national identity and social policy, Weidel rose with it.

Her economic views have drawn comparisons with Margaret Thatcher's free-market politics. She has also supported the idea of Germany holding a Brexit-style referendum on its relationship with the European Union.

Post-election clash in parliament 

After the election results came out, Alice Weidel (head of the far-right AfD party) and Friedrich Merz (the leader of Germany/Chancellor) had a huge, noisy argument inside the German parliament (the Bundestag).

Alice Weidel attacked first: She bragged about her election win and told Chancellor Merz that his political party got crushed ("pulverised"). She blamed his government for ruining Germany's economy.

Friedrich Merz hit back hard: Merz criticised her party's plan to deport immigrants ("remigration"). He said that calling it "remigration" is just a fancy word for ethnic cleansing (forcing a specific group of people out of a country). He called her and her party a "destructive force".

The Speaker of the House had to stop the fight: The argument got so loud, with MPs shouting over each other, that the parliamentary leader (Julia Klöckner) had to tell everyone to calm down, saying: "We are not on a football pitch!"

What does 'remigration' mean in the AfD debate?

"Remigration" has become one of the most disputed words in German politics. The AfD uses it when arguing for the departure or removal of migrants it says should not remain in Germany. Critics fear the idea could reach much further and threaten people who are settled in the country.

Merz argued that removing large numbers of workers with immigrant backgrounds would also hurt the German economy. He said his government supports deporting people without a legal right to remain but drew a line between that policy and the AfD's plans.

Trump brings Alice Weidel's rise onto the global stage

The fight is no longer confined to German politics. US President Donald Trump publicly welcomed the AfD's Saxony-Anhalt victory, linking the result to anger over immigration.

US Vice President JD Vance has also criticised the political firewall around the AfD. Those interventions have made Germany's debate over the party part of a wider argument about the growth of nationalist and anti-immigration movements in Europe.

For Weidel, the election has raised the stakes. She is no longer simply the economist who made an unlikely move from international banking into a nationalist party. She is now one of the main figures in a fight over who can govern Germany, how far its immigration policy should move and whether the country's long-standing firewall against the far right can survive.