For the first time, a poll has put the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in first place ahead of Berlin's upcoming city election TVP World. That is a big deal because Berlin has traditionally been a city where mainstream parties win. The AfD, a right-wing party that has gained support mainly in eastern Germany, had not been a front-runner there before.

In early July, the AfD held a meeting in the eastern city of Erfurt to choose its leaders. Co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla were reelected to keep running the party PBS NewsHour; AP News. Thousands of people showed up outside to protest against the party, blocking roads, according to Reuters Reuters.

Before that meeting, in April, the BBC reported that the AfD had adopted a new manifesto — the document outlining the party's goals and promises — described as "radical" BBC. At the time, the party was already polling well in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. The BBC noted that the manifesto and campaign messages showed the party taking a harder line on its core issues.

One of those issues is gender-inclusive language in German, known as Gendersprache. This is an effort to use words that include all genders instead of defaulting to male or female terms. Think of it as the German version of saying "firefighter" instead of "fireman." The AfD opposes this change. Its manifesto calls these language reforms "artificial and absurd" AfD manifesto. A campaign poster contrasts "Mutter" (mother) with "gebärendes Elternteil" (birthing parent) under the slogan "Stop gender nonsense" AfD campaign poster. The party's family policy page states that "Gender ideology is unconstitutional" AfD family policy page.

The AfD has also claimed credit for pushing other parties to change course. AfD politician Beatrix von Storch said that CDU leader Friedrich Merz followed an AfD demand to ban gender-inclusive language AfD. The party's 2019 European election program also addressed gender, women's rights, and homosexuality as policy areas AfD European election program, showing that the party has focused on cultural and identity topics for several election cycles.

In June, Reuters reported that the Bauhaus school in Dessau got pulled into a culture war tied to the AfD and a state election Reuters. The Bauhaus is a famous school of design and architecture, and it became a symbol in a broader fight over cultural identity that the AfD has made central to its campaigns.

Taken together — the Berlin poll lead, the reelected leaders, the harder-line manifesto, and the focus on culture-war topics — the AfD has gone from the edges of German politics to a competitive position in several elections at once. The Berlin result stands out because the capital has not been friendly territory for the AfD in the past.

The protests in Erfurt show the other side of the picture. While the party consolidated its leadership inside the hall, outside there were blocked roads and clashes between protesters and police.

The broader context here is that German politics at the state and local level is shifting. The AfD's focus on language, gender, and identity has become a dividing line that other parties can no longer ignore. Whether the Berlin poll lead turns into an actual win is an open question. But the AfD's path through the first half of 2026 is clear: it has kept its leadership united, taken a sharper stance, and gained polling ground in places where it was not previously a front-runner.