A leading politician in Germany's right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party says xenophobic sentiment will be tolerated within its ranks, the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper reported Saturday, according to dpa. "If people decide against welcoming foreigners, that has to be accepted," Alexander Gauland, the AfD's vice chairman, told the conservative newspaper. "Populism means being more accepting of people's needs and fears." Anti-foreigner and anti-immigrant sentiment has long been an undercurrent in German society but has rarely been expressed openly enough to impact mainstream politics. The right-wing political upstart is offering a new voice for voters angry about immigration as Germany faces an unprecedented influx of refugees from conflict-ridden countries. In recent months, however, the party has been plagued by intense infighting as its leaders seek to integrate the anti-immigrant sentiment expressed by Gauland with the more moderate, economically liberal stance of one of the three party leaders, Bernd Lucke.
