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.

Germans will head to the polls Sunday looking for leadership at a deeply uncertain time, but all eyes will be trained on a party likely to finish a distant second.

The Alternative for Germany still has pariah status among other major political parties in a country where far-right politics has long carried a stigma because of the Nazi past.