The leader of far-right party has vowed to close the country's borders for 100 days and enforce mass deportations, if it wins power in the forthcoming federal elections.

Germans go to the polls to choose a new government on February 23, after lost a vote of confidence in December.

This followed the collapse of his three-party coalition in November, leaving the beleaguered Chancellor in charge of a minority administration.

Over the weekend, the far-right party confirmed Alice Weidel as its candidate for Chancellor.

Unveiling the party's manifesto to supporters following her successful nomination, promised an immediate crackdown on immigrants.

She told the party conference that the AfD would enact the "total closure of Germany's borders" and would carry out "large-scale repatriations".

"I say to you quite honestly, if this must be called remigration, then let it be called remigration," she told the party faithful.

Last year, the number of refugees living in reached a new high, according to government data.

Some 3.48 million refugees with varying types of residency permits were living in the country at the end of June 2024 - roughly 60,000 more than at the end of 2023.

The AfD is enjoying increasing popularity, coming second in recent polls with around 20 percent.

One survey put the party on 22 percent - its highest-ever result at the federal level.

However, the has been accused of flirting with Neo-Nazi themes and has even been branded as a suspected extremist group by German intelligence.

Other mainstream parties have ruled out forming a coalition with the , in an attempt to bar it from power.

Weidel denies the party is fascist, claiming it represents normal mainstream conservative values.

She has also sought to distance herself from her personal history as the granddaughter of a Hitler-appointed Nazi judge.

Last week the far-right leader was hosted by for a wide-ranging livestream on his X social media platform.

Musk also boosted the livestream of the AfD's congress this weekend by sharing it on his own X account, helping it gain a worldwide audience.