The Berlin AfD before the election

They want to get the votes with the campaign slogan “Berlin. Make. Strong.” A mixture of migration, order/security, national or cultural identity and an attack on “left-wing” politics. Actually only visible on around 25,000 (2) posters (well documented:https://t.me/keinPlakatDerAfD): “Remigration is not everything, but without remigration everything is nothing.” (Martin Kohler), “Berlin needs order.” (Marc Bernicke), “For safety, cleanliness and justice” (David Eckert), “Gerne Deutsch.” (Robert Eschricht), “m/f/d: male, white, German.” (Hendrik Pauli), “Let’s defend Berlin from the left-wing madness!” (Marc Vallendar), “Good mobility through transport diversity instead of transport ideology.” (Rolf Wiedenhaupt), “For academic freedom and against cancel culture at our universities.” (Martin Trefzer) and on large posters “Migration needs borders” or “Berlin needs order”. 

The program
These striking problem messages can also be found in the election program. As noted in the first publication on the Berlin election on Indy (3) and in the analysis by Apabiz (4), the AfD builds on known problems (e.g. housing) and makes more concrete proposals in the program than in previous election programs. The poster campaign is narrower than the actual program - which is not unusual. It is also common for parties to make promises that they cannot implement due to financial shortages, decision-making powers (EU level, federal laws), constitutional problems and a lack of staff. The criticism of the AfD program should not relate to its feasibility, but rather to the political agenda. It is a racist, nationalist, sexist and abelist policy that is intended to shift the balance of power further towards the owning class and to do so makes poisonous offers to many social groups. 
This was well dissected at the numerous counter-events to the AfD's election campaign events, for example at the Tierpark (5) or in Charlottenburg (6). But that's not enough to change the mood in the city. 

The candidates
Anyone who scrolls through the lists of candidates will recognize many old faces. The majority of the state list was already in the AGH. Many have also been established in the BVV for a long time and are usually the same as the party's district executives. However, there are a few new curiosities - the Tagesspiegel highlighted Andreas Quint (35th place on the state list and supporter of the “repopulation” thesis) (7). Others include Kathi Rödl from Spandau, who acts as library director of the “Memorial Library in Honor of the Victims of Communism” and is now on the BVV list. The images of the candidates leave the impression of consultants, sole proprietors, car mechanics and, above all, fairly young right-wingers who could just as easily be part of the Identitarian Movement (where they often come from). Some of the new AfD personnel were politically socialized years ago in the party's youth organization and are now migrating as a group into the party's next organizational generation. Jan Streeck (JA Berlin, BVV and today number 4 on the state list), David Eckert (JA state chairman, district board and also state list). Martin Kohler (first JA/IB, currently board of Generation Germany and now state board/state list), Marc Bernicke (police officer, JA, now AfD party apparatus and state list) and Christopher Wiedenhaupt (son of the former CDU member and now AfDler Rolf Wiedenhaupt, also JA, AfD/district structure and now state list). Unfortunately, there is currently no structured analysis of the AfD candidates that could be used in the election campaign. In this way, the bourgeois façade could have been contrasted with the actual intra-party networks.This analytical weakness is a novelty for Berlin but can be explained by a shift in strategy in the anti-fascist spectrum. 
In addition to the posters, candidate blaming and election campaign sabotage, there is simply more to do. It looks like the AfD has all but solved its real estate problem by renting Am Köllnischen Park 1 (Heinrich-Heine-Straße) (8). The move out of the federal party headquarters in Wittenau from October can therefore be compensated. There are also established rooms for party events and new ones are being added, such as the citizens' office in Gropiusstadt (9), where one of the numerous election parties in Saxony-Anhalt took place. The reorganization of the youth organization including monthly meetings could not yet be sufficiently appreciated.

Organized election campaign
On the other side is a party that is becoming increasingly organized and self-confident. The major events in the districts were planned and carried out by the state executive board (including prior poster advertising in the respective neighboring districts, announcements of beer and bratwurst stands and party celebrities). The AfD was usually able to attract several hundred sympathizers. These events also have an impact on the neo-Nazi scene. 
The logistics for events and the day-to-day details of the election campaign are no longer left to chance. Election posters are stored in rented storage (e.g. in MyPlace at Ostpreußendamm 84a, in Lichterfelde) instead of in private basements. Cars for distribution will be rented for the entire duration of the election campaign so that no one has to risk their private car. The many campaign stands were also over-staffed. The respective district AfDlers surrounded their stands with up to 12 people in order to appear strong and, in case of doubt, to be able to defend themselves. No matter whether on the weekend or on weekday mornings. 

protests
The protests against this are noticeable in all districts and motivate people to engage more with the AfD. Door-to-door conversations, flyers, festivals, interventions at campaign stands have “activated” people who previously did not know how to act against this organized mule-talking and brought them out of their “powerlessness”. That's good and works in a city like this. The competition to discover and remove election posters via a Telegram bot (https://t.me/no_afd_bot) has shown that something like this can be fun (police statistics say that 800 party posters were damaged). There is also joy in the report that most of the crimes during the election campaign are directed against the AfD (10)
However, none of this seems to be enough, the level of organization is too low and the forms of action only half suit the AfD and those who carry it out. In addition: The AfD no longer stumbles over internal party disputes, scarce resources and self-inflicted Nazi scandals. The sharpest weapon, however, is its normalization and a false understanding of democracy (= neutrality requirement), which somehow leads to large organizations and institutions in everyday life staying out of political decision-making instead of positioning clear humanistic models to guide action. There is that too - but far too little to make a difference.

No matter how the elections turn out on Sunday, it will be about the AfD's participation in politics, especially in the districts. How many city council positions will she get, which coalitions are even possible without her and how fragile is the ability of all other parties to compromise to continue to exclude the AfD. For the extra-parliamentary spectrum, it remains important to weaken the AfD. At the same time, everyone else needs to be reminded of their role not to open the doors for her too.

(1)https://dawum.de/Berlin/
(2)https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/familienhwahl-parteien-hangen-...
(3)https://de.indymedia.org/node/741923
(4)https://www.apabiz.de/2026/eine-triste-vision-fuer-berlin/
(5)https://antifa-berlin.info/recherche/1921-28-august-2026-neonazis-bei-de...
(6)https://de.indymedia.org/node/861174
(7)https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/liste-der-radikalen-diese-extremen-af...
(8)https://keinraumderafd.info/2026/07/29/nein-zur-afd-zentrale-im-heinrich...
(9)https://www.tip-berlin.de/stadt/politik/neues-afd-buero-neukoelln-gropiu...
(10)https://www.rbb24.de/politik/berlin-wahl-2026/beitraege/berlin-wahlkampf...

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