MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Frauke Petry, the leader of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, said Wednesday she did not want to be its sole lead candidate for chancellorship in this September’s general election.
"I am not available either as a sole frontrunner or a member of a lead [campaign] team," she said in a video address on Facebook.
Petry refuted accusations of allowing a split inside the party that created two rival camps with competing strategies ahead of this weekend’s party conference in Cologne, and insisted the AfD needed to map out a joint strategy.
"It is important that we are able to discuss urgent issues, such as our [election] bid, which will determine AfD’s future in the coming months and years, without having to deal with alleged or real personnel problems," she said.
Germans are expected to vote on September 24 in a general election that will elect a new government and chancellor. This will be the second federal election for the populist AfD, founded in 2013, which is expected to win seats this time.
