On a wet evening in Suhl, in the former East Germany, a smattering of youthful faces were among hundreds lining up to hear from an unlikely idol - Björn Höcke, one of the most controversial figures in the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

EXCLUSIVE: Hans-Olaf Henkel joined the AfD in 2014, one year before Angela Merkel launched her open-door immigration policy.

A week out from the Federal Election, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to Berlin's streets to protest the rise of ultra-conservative ideology in German politics. They say they're concerned about the direction their country is taking - a sentiment shared by some of the Australia's

In recent years, far-right political movements have gained traction across Europe. Parties that once existed on the fringes are now entering mainstream debates and, in some cases, influencing policy.

This would position the AfD in second place with 20 percent of the vote, following only after the center-right Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian ally, the Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), which together garnered 30 percent of the vote.