“Alternative for Germany” is preparing the candidacy of former German international footballer Thomas Berthold for president of the country, Bild reports. The name of the 62-year-old 1990 World Cup winner has not yet been officially confirmed by the party.
According to the report, Berthold is due to be presented on Saturday in Berlin during a meeting attended by 30 federal and regional AfD politicians. The agenda includes a point on preparations for the election of the federal president, scheduled for the period from 12:00 to 12:30.
Election scheduled for January
Germany’s new president will be elected on January 30, 2027, by the Federal Convention. He will succeed Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who cannot run for a third term.
The candidate with the best chances is Bavarian politician Ilse Aigner. She has been nominated by the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union, while the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Greens have also declared their support for her. This secures a majority in the electoral assembly.
Against this backdrop, Berthold’s candidacy is primarily political and symbolic in nature. AfD has previously put forward its own candidate for president. In 2022, the party nominated economist and author Max Otte.
From football to politics
Berthold played as a central defender and made 62 appearances for the German national team. He was part of the squad that won the 1990 World Cup and made 381 Bundesliga appearances for Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich and Stuttgart.
The former footballer also became politically active during the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020, he spoke at a demonstration organized by the “Querdenken” movement in Stuttgart and criticized the actions of the federal government. Berthold said at the time: “My trust in the country’s political leadership is below zero.”
His candidacy will become official only after a decision by the party. Until then, AfD has not publicly confirmed that Berthold will indeed be its candidate for Germany’s highest state office.
Sources: bild.de, apnews.com, tagesschau.de