Berlin AfD | AfD in Berlin: Young, right-wing, networked

On the podium: The AfD became the third strongest force in the House of Representatives election. Photo: dpa/Bernd von Jutrczenka Last Sunday's House of Representatives election will not only lead to changes in the Senate. The AfD was able to increase by 7.2 percentage points and has 29 seats in the state parliament in the new legislative period instead of the previous 16. In this way, new leaders of the party take over political offices. What is striking is a generational change: several of the new recruits began their political careers in the AfD's youth organizations. At the same time, others are leaving state political work. These personnel changes provide an indication of the party's future course in the capital.

For the election campaign, the AfD sent Kristin Brinker, a top candidate, into the race who is often seen as a representative of supposedly moderate politics. Without drawing too much attention to herself with discriminatory statements in public, she provides the party with an electable face. Nevertheless, their current position is based primarily on the support of extreme right-wing actors and networks within the party. Their support helped Kristin Brinker become state chairman in spring 2021. The so-called “wing” in particular exerted great influence. This is a ethnically oriented group within the AfD, which was strongly based on the policies of the Thuringian state chairman Björn Höcke.

In Berlin, this Höcke wing managed to increasingly take on political offices over the years. Even after its official dissolution in 2020, with which the association wanted to forestall a ban, its supporters remain active. They moved into the new Berlin AfD faction primarily through promising places on the state list or direct mandates. Alexander Bertram from Treptow-Köpenick retains his mandate, as do Rolf Wiedenhaupt and Carsten Ubbelohde from Reinickendorf. In addition to Gunnar Lindemann and Jeanette Auricht, other supporters of the former “wing” from the Marzahn-Hellersdorf association are moving into the House of Representatives. Martin Koblischke and Jörn Geißler, for example, took part in events with Björn Höcke in 2017 and were on the wing network's Berlin mailing list with their email addresses. Both have now won a direct mandate.

Anneliese Dummer, who also moved in through a direct mandate, was also documented at network events years ago. Thorsten Weiß, the former chairman of the wing in Berlin, is leaving the House of Representatives. According to “Tagesspiegel” he wants to move his center of life to Thuringia. That would at least allow him to support Björn Höcke's policies more directly.

But in addition to the “wing”, another group within the party, the “Generation Germany”, is increasing its political scope in the new AfD faction. The party's new youth organization was founded at the beginning of 2026 and replaced the "Junge Alternative", which was targeted by the investigative authorities due to extreme right-wing activities. However, the personal networks continue to exist.

The new parliamentary group brings together representatives who actively promote ethnic politics.

In Berlin in February, Martin Kohler, the former chairman of the “Junge Alternative”, was elected chairman of the “Generation Germany”. The 28-year-old now sits in the House of Representatives for the AfD. When he campaigned to become an election observer a few days before the election, he referred to an offer from the ethnic association "Einprozent", which is close to the "Identities Movement". Most recently, the member of the striking fraternity “Gothia” took part in the anti-feminist “March for Life” with evangelicals and the extreme right in mid-September.

With Jan Streeck from Pankow, another member of the former Berlin JA board was able to move into the House of Representatives for the first time. He is also 28 years old. Streeck now leads the Pankow AfD district association together with Daniel Krüger. In any case, many of the current AfD MPs have a history of holding leading positions in the old party youth. These include Herbert Mohr, Marc Bernicke and their former chairman David Eckert from Lichtenberg. The new MPs' connection to the "German Generation" also seems to be short. In addition to Bernicke, parliamentary group members Robert Eschricht, Alexander Bertram and Andreas Otti were present at the founding event of the Berlin Youth Association at the beginning of February.

Overall, the future AfD parliamentary group in the Berlin House of Representatives underlines the strong role of the party's youth in state politics. A large number of the new MPs are recruited from the networks of junior organizations that have grown over the years and which continue to exist despite being dissolved and re-founded. These complement the informal structures of the former “wing”. In the new parliamentary group, young cadres like Kohler and Streeck meet representatives whose connections to the old networks have been documented for years. Over the generations, the new parliamentary group increasingly includes representatives who actively promote ethnic politics and do not shy away from joining forces with extreme right-wing groups outside parliament.

The »nd.Genossenschaft« belongs to its readers and authors. They are the ones who make our journalism accessible to everyone through their contribution: We are not backed by a media company, not a large advertising customer or even a billionaire.

With your support we can continue to:

→ report independently and critically → address overlooked topics → give space to marginalized voices → counter misinformation → advance left-wing debates

With “Pay voluntarily” you can take part. You help ensure that this newspaper has a future. So that nd remains.