Anti-euro party vows to fight Merkel

Berlin - A German political party that wants to scrap the euro and bring back the Deutschmark will launch its programme Monday, half a year ahead of national elections.

Formed just five weeks ago, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is sharply critical of conservative leader Angela Merkel and of bailouts for indebted eurozone countries.

"We are the alternative to the euro policy of Chancellor Merkel," co-founder Frauke Petry told dpa in Berlin. "We have the potential to become a genuine people's party. "

To be registered for the September 22 parliamentary election, the AfD party must gather 2,000 signatures of support in each of Germany's 16 states by mid-June.

Petry said she was optimistic the party would reach that goal, pointing to the thousands of emails of support she said the group had received from disillusioned voters.

The party plans to present itself to the public Monday and formally launch at an April 14 party congress in Berlin.

The AfD demands an orderly dissolution of the 17-member currency union and a transfer of legislative powers back from the EU to its 27 member states' national parliaments.

It also wants more transparency in German national budget decisions made by Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on eurozone bailout policies and German liabilities for them.

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