LGBTQ+ Germans fear Elon Musk-backed AfD could reverse rights

• Elon Musk says "only the AfD can save Germany"
• The far-right party is running second in opinion polls
• AfD has vowed to restrict some LGBTQ+ rights

BERLIN - Elon Musk's public backing of Alternative for Germany (AfD), a far-right party polling second ahead of February's snap election, has exacerbated fears of rights reversals among LGBTQ+ people concerned about the party's possible influence on policy.

"The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party's leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!" Musk wrote in an article in late December. He also plans a live interview with Weidel this week.

However, LGBTQ+ activists have warned that Weidel's party, best-known for its anti-immigration stance, could not only block future rights advances if it does well in the vote, but also reverse LGBTQ-friendly policies introduced in recent years.

Here's what you need to know.

What is AfD's record on LGBTQ+ rights?

Despite having an openly lesbian chancellor candidate who is raising two sons with a Sri Lankan-born woman, AfD has become the loudest voice in the German parliament, or Bundestag, against LGBTQ+ rights.

The party opposed the legalisation of same-sex marriage and joint adoption for gay and lesbian couples in 2017, and two years later it filed a motion to revoke gay marriage.

Last year, AfD unsuccessfully sought to challenge a self-identification law that makes it easier for trans people to change their legal gender.

Weidel's party has also voted for bans on the use of different forms of gender-neutral language in official communications in public administration and schools - the bans were passed in five German states, from Bavaria to Saxony.

"The trans pop culture of a minority is being promoted while parents ask themselves how to protect children from it in kindergartens and schools," Weidel said in a 2023 interview with public broadcaster ARD.

Which LGBTQ-related policies is AfD now campaigning for?

The far-right party's election manifesto is set to be approved at a party conference next weekend and calls for a ban on gender-affirming care, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, for trans minors and to revoke the 2024 self-ID law.

The manifesto also states that "there must be no indoctrination of children and young people through the trans cult, early sexualisation and gender ideology" and that all public funding in that respect should be cut.

"Any indoctrination regarding gender mainstreaming and other ideologies must also be prevented" in kindergartens and schools, the document says.

AfD also wants to halt all government funding for "woke ideology-based development projects". Germany introduced a policy four years ago to champion LGBTQ+ rights abroad through foreign policy and development aid.

The AfD, which also wants to abolish the position of federal government commissioner on queer rights, created in 2022, did not reply to several requests for comment.

Can AfD influence policymaking?

AfD is polling second ahead of the Feb. 23 election with 19% of the vote, according to a survey published by broadcasters RTL and ntv on Tuesday.

The conservative CDU/CSU bloc, which is expected to win, will likely have to pick a junior coalition partner, choosing between the centre-left SPD, the Greens and the AfD.

So far, CDU leader Friedrich Merz has repeatedly rejected the idea of forming a coalition government with the AfD.

However, after Austria's president last week tasked the far-right FPÖ with forming a coalition government after the collapse of a centrist bid, some wonder if Vienna could set a precedent for Germany.

Even if AfD does not join a coalition government, it could become the largest opposition force in the Bundestag and vote together with the CDU/CSU to pass new LGBTQ+ rights restrictions nationally, as it already has at the state level.

Many of AfD's LGBTQ-related demands overlap with those of the conservatives, from reversing the trans self-determination law to restricting the use of inclusive language and gender-affirming care.

What do LGBTQ+ activists say?

Activists are alarmed about a likely shift to the right after more than three years of a progressive coalition that introduced several LGBTQ-friendly policies, such as banning conversion therapy for minors and allowing gay and bi men to donate blood.

"When it comes to trans rights, the firewall against the AfD hasn't existed for a while," Julia Monro, an activist with the German LGBTQ+ rights umbrella group LSVD, told Context.

LGBTQ+ activists also worry that right-leaning parties could block long-delayed demands on equal parenting rights for lesbian mothers, or a ban on conversion therapy to include adults.

(Reporting by Enrique Anarte; Editing by Jonathan Hemming)