Overview
- On Monday Gauland’s Bundestag office confirmed he has cancer and that treatment has materially limited his ability to attend sessions in person.
- His office said he has undergone multiple operations and is receiving chemotherapy and that he is doing much of his parliamentary work from home with attendance depending on how the treatment goes.
- Parliamentary records show a sharp drop in participation: Gauland voted in 47 of 85 recorded roll-call votes since the start of the term, a participation rate of about 55 percent.
- The office declined to say when the diagnosis occurred, leaving it unclear whether the illness was known before the 23 February 2025 federal election in which he won the Chemnitz direct mandate.
- Gauland, 85, co-founded the AfD in 2013 and his reduced presence — despite a public appearance on 26 October in Stollberg — raises questions about who will fill his integrative role in the party and how that may affect AfD influence in polarizing debates.