The campaign posters, styled as airline tickets, landed in letterboxes in the city of Karlsruhe, western Germany.
The move, which has sparked condemnation, comes as Germany braces for a
parliamentary election on February 23, in which the AfD is polling second nationally with 22% support, trailing the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) at 31% but ahead of the left-leaning Social Democrats (SPD), who have just 15% support.
Although the AfD remains unlikely to form the next government, as mainstream parties have ruled out coalition talks with the far-right group, it has been gaining increasing traction, particularly in eastern Germany.
It won a
regional election in the state of Thuringia in September, becoming the first far-right party to do so since the Nazi era.
The party also achieved a strong second-place finish in the neighboring state of Saxony, earning some 30% of the vote.
Analysts attribute the AfD’s rising popularity to its hardline stance on immigration, an issue that has garnered wide public attention in Germany following
terrorist incidents involving asylum seekers.
On Tuesday, Karlsruhe police announced they were investigating “unknown persons on suspicion of incitement of racial hatred” after residents from immigrant communities reported finding the flyers in their mailboxes.
‘Xenophobic’ rhetoric
The flyers displayed an airline ticket featuring the AfD’s logo, with ‘flight details’ reading “departure: Germany” and “destination: safe country of origin.”
The flyers also featured “AfD” listed as the departure gate, along with the slogans “Only remigration can save Germany” and “It’s nice at home too.”
The opposition Left party has strongly criticized the campaign, accusing the AfD of using xenophobic rhetoric to sow division.
AfD MP Marc Bernhard confirmed that 30,000 flyers had been printed and distributed, though he denied any intention to target immigration communities, claiming that the flyers were aimed at all eligible voters.
