On a wet evening in Suhl, in the former East Germany, a smattering of youthful faces were among hundreds lining up to hear from an unlikely idol - Björn Höcke, one of the most controversial figures in the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

The Alternative for Germany still has pariah status among other major political parties in a country where far-right politics has long carried a stigma because of the Nazi past.

In recent years, far-right political movements have gained traction across Europe. Parties that once existed on the fringes are now entering mainstream debates and, in some cases, influencing policy.

Musk won AfD a massive new audience, and JD Vance added support. That brought the party outsized attention, but the impact in Germany was limited, data shows.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came under heavy fire on Sunday as Chancellor Olaf Scholz faced off with his rivals in a four-way TV debate just one week before national elections. Scholz said Germany has learnt the lessons from its Nazi past.

When it comes to courting controversy, there are few political rivals to Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). A former spokesman identified himself as a “fascist” in 2020, and later the same year talked nonchalantly about how refugees could be “shot or gassed” as he discussed how more migrants coming in would translate into polling gains for the AfD (“the worse it goes for Germany,