Alice Weidel is one of the most important and controversial politicians in Europe today. The co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), she is at the helm of a party that is making the political weather in Europe’s biggest economy. The AfD is the biggest opposition party in Germany’s parliament, leads in national polls by a wide margin and came top in two recent state elections. But unlike other parties of Europe’s populist right, it appears to be growing more hardline as it gains momentum: staunchly pro-Russia, demanding the end of assistance to Ukraine, in favour of “remigration” and home to some individuals as well as some policies with a decidedly proto-fascist flavour. 

Ms Weidel, a self-proclaimed conservative-libertarian, is an unusual standard-bearer for this party. An economist who once worked for Goldman Sachs, she spent six years in China (and speaks Mandarin as well as excellent English). She lives with her Sri Lankan-born wife partly in Switzerland. She admires Margaret Thatcher. Yet she co-heads a party that many Germans fear has dangerous echoes of the 1930s.

What does Ms Weidel really believe in and what would the party she co-leads try to achieve? That is what I hope to find out in this week’s Insider. I have met Ms Weidel once before. It was an off-the-record conversation, but she came across as more of an urbane advocate of limited government than a reactionary. When this newsletter lands in your inboxes, I’ll just have finished talking to her again, this time on camera. Ms Weidel is skilled at voicing Germans’ frustrations with mainstream political parties and, particularly, with Friedrich Merz, the supremely unpopular chancellor. My challenge will be to get beyond her well-practised critiques of the “old parties”, as she dismissively calls them, and find out what sort of Germany she would like to create. 

I plan to start with the AfD’s economic recipe. Some of her party’s ideas, such as cutting energy costs and red tape, sound like sensible pro-growth reforms. But what about leaving the euro? This was the idea on which the party was founded and was still in its manifesto for last year’s federal election. But there have been recent signs that party members may be rethinking this totemic policy. I’m keen to get a clear answer to what exactly is the AfD’s policy on the euro and the future of the European Union. I also want to probe Ms Weidel’s professed focus on fiscal prudence. She’s been loud in her criticism of Germany’s debt-brake reform, dubbing the current government’s policies an “orgy of debt”. But her party also calls for expensive tax cuts and increased pension spending. Her proposals are confusing and the numbers don’t add up. I’ll be asking her to make sense of it all. 

Then there is the charged issue of migration. “Remigration” is a controversial word Ms Weidel now uses liberally. Mr Merz has said it is simply a veiled call for “ethnic cleansing”. I plan to ask Ms Weidel what she is actually proposing when she demands for “remigration”. Does she mean the deportation of migrants who have lost their asylum applications or does she mean a broader mass expulsion? And, for an ageing country already suffering from labour shortages, does kicking out foreign workers make any sense? 

What about Ukraine? Having recently visited Kyiv, I find the AfD’s stance on Russia and its war in Ukraine shocking. The party seems to be unashamedly pro-Russian. Ms Weidel has made some alarming statements, suggesting that Ukrainian refugees should return home, that financial support must end and that Ukraine should make repayments to Germany. To me, it sounds like the AfD—motivated by a desire to restart Russian gas supplies—wants to simply abandon Ukraine. Is that true? 

And, finally, what about extremists? Ms Weidel may not consider herself far right, but some people around her clearly are. I recently read the AfD’s manifesto for the state election in Saxony-Anhalt and was shocked. It called, for instance, for removing disabled children and the children of refugees from classrooms. Does Ms Weidel support these kinds of policies? Why doesn’t she call out the extreme elements in her party? 

Ms Weidel told Reuters back in June that her party would “not turn everything on its head” if it came to power. To me, that sounded like a signal that the AfD might be prepared to moderate. I want to know if that’s a real possibility—or a vain hope.

I don’t share Ms Weidel’s worldview, but I’ve been looking forward to my conversation with her. For a large portion of the German electorate her outlook has a lot of appeal. Listening to her, understanding her and pushing her is therefore worthwhile, and I hope you’ll watch our conversation. It will be available from 6pm London time (1pm in New York) tomorrow. As ever, I’m interested to hear our readers’ perspectives on the interview. Please do write to me at insider@economist.com.