The topic of this article is the phenomenon of the «Alternative for Germany» (AfD) political party. During a relatively short period of time the party has received broad support of electorate and entered the Bundestag. The main purpose of the paper is to examine the causes of this success and to analyze the prospects of the AfD. To this end, the authors undertake the analysis of the party in the context of the German party-political system, tracing the main lines of its evolution in the recent past. A wide range of sources is used, such as party programs, speeches of their leaders, public opinion surveys and press articles. The development of the AfD is compared to the other parliamentary parties of Germany – «The Left», «Alliance 90 / The Greens», the «Free Democratic Party», which allows to determine similarities and differences between those and the «Alternative for Germany». Turning to the electoral achievements of the party in the land- and federal elections, the authors explain them by the fact that the AfD had filled an empty niche at the right fringe of the German political spectrum. In the foreseeable future the party will most likely maintain its position but remain isolated and excluded from any coalitions with the other political parties of the country.
«Alternative für Deutschland»; German party system; Bundestag; populism; right-wing radicalism.