The leading candidate, Friedrich Merz, a conservative who has adopted many of the AfD’s hard-line positions on immigration, used his closing statement of the debate to promise his voters that he would never allow the AfD into his government. Under him, he said, the firewall would hold.

In spite of the Tesla CEO's best efforts, the AfD performed no better than had been expected when snap elections were called.

German far-right AfD leader Alice Weidel pledges to overtake conservative bloc, vows to win first place in next election.