Afd chairwoman in favor of using weapons at border in extreme cases

"We need comprehensive controls to prevent so many unregistered refugees from continuing to enter via austria," petry told the newspaper mannheimer morgen. If necessary, police officers at the border "also had to make use of the firearm. That’s what the law says," said the chairwoman of the right-wing populist alternative fur deutschland party.

No police officer wants to push on a refugee. "I don’t want that either. But the use of armed force is a last resort," petry said. It is crucial that it does not come so far and that through agreements with austria and controls at the EU’s external borders the influx of refugees is slowed down.

In november, petry’s mortal danger, afd politician marcus pretzell, had already caused a stir with his call for the german border to be defended "by force of arms as the ultima ratio.

The afd is gaining popularity with its radical demands in the refugee debate. In a recent poll by the emnid "sunday trend," the afd became the third strongest force in the federation, behind the union and the SPD, ahead of the left-wing party and the greens.