AfD's German week: Beatrix von Storch heads to Mönchengladbach as Berlin's Brinker again misses direct mandate
German far-right AfD deputy parliamentary group leader Beatrix von Storch is set to appear at an event in Mönchengladbach that has drawn protest plans, while in Berlin the party's leading candidate Kristin Brinker again failed to win a direct constituency seat in the state election, though her re-entry to parliament via the party list is assured.
Beatrix von Storch travels to Mönchengladbach
According to RP Online on 18 September 2026, the AfD's North Rhine-Westphalia state branch announced via Facebook a "citizens' dialogue" in Mönchengladbach featuring six Bundestag deputies — reportedly the largest gathering of prominent AfD politicians the city has ever seen. Among them are Kay Gottschalk, Jochen Haug, Christian Zaum, Hauke Finger, and Christian Wirth, who led the AfD in Saarland from 2020 to 2022 and recently moved his constituency office to Mönchengladbach. Also attending is Beatrix von Storch, deputy leader of the AfD's Bundestag group, a former deputy federal spokesperson of the party and ex-Member of the European Parliament who has served as a Bundestag deputy since 2017. The outlet reports that resistance to the event is forming and is expected to look different from typical protests, though no further details are given.
Berlin state election campaign
Separately, Berlin held its Abgeordnetenhaus (state parliament) election, with Kristin Brinker running as the AfD's top candidate for the third time. As reported by tagesschau.de (rbb), Brinker has chaired the Berlin AfD since 2021 and has sat in the state parliament since 2016. Polling suggested the party could gain votes, but it has no realistic path to government since no other party is willing to form a coalition with it. On the campaign trail, Brinker tried to steer discussion toward state-level issues such as housing and transport rather than federal controversies: the AfD wants state-owned flats given preferentially to long-term Berlin residents and favors prioritizing car traffic in the city. The party's platform also invokes "remigration," which Brinker defined as the deportation of people without residency status or those who have committed serious crimes; the program calls for the immediate deportation of up to 20,000 people in Berlin obliged to leave the country. Brinker rejected suggestions that her party has shifted further right.
Election result
According to a dpa report carried by Süddeutsche Zeitung, Brinker again failed to win a direct mandate, taking 9.3% of first votes in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf 1 constituency and finishing fifth — down on her 5.3% result there in 2023. The constituency was won by Green candidate Tonka Wojahn with 24.6%, narrowly ahead of CDU's Claudia Wein by 0.3 percentage points. As the AfD's top candidate, however, Brinker's return to the Berlin parliament via the party list is considered certain.
