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Europe

Nationalist leader Petry won't head German election campaign

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    AfD (Alternative for Germany) chairwomen and party's faction leader in the German state parliament of Saxony, Frauke Petry, right, and the faction's media policy spokeswomen, Kirsten Muster, left, address the media during a press conference in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, April 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) (The Associated Press)

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    AfD (Alternative for Germany) chairwomen and party's faction leader in the German state parliament of Saxony, Frauke Petry, closes her eyes as she arrives for a press conference in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, April 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) (The Associated Press)

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    AfD (Alternative for Germany) chairwomen and party's faction leader in the German state parliament of Saxony, Frauke Petry, right, and the faction's media policy spokeswomen, Kirsten Muster, left, talk as they arrive for a press conference in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, April 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) (The Associated Press)

BERLIN – The best-known figure in the nationalist Alternative for Germany says that she won't be its top candidate in September's German election — a decision that appears to reflect growing opposition among other leading members of the party.

Frauke Petry ousted co-founder Bernd Lucke, an economics professor, to become the party's chairwoman in 2015. Opposition to immigration and Islam have taken center stage in the party's platform since then.

But the party also has become increasingly mired in infighting between Petry, her husband Marcus Pretzell and other senior figures.

Petry said in a video message posted Wednesday on Facebook that she won't lead the party's election campaign, either alone or as part of a team.