The EU has five years to carry out radical reform and return power to national governments or face disintegration, says the most prominent leader of Germany’s biggest rightwing party — the anti-immigration and Eurosceptic Alternative for Germany.

Welcoming the UK’s referendum vote, Frauke Petry predicts other countries may follow Britain out of the door, including the Netherlands, Denmark and “at some point” Austria. Germany is behind the rest but is “waking up” to the possibility.

“I think we must finally set a deadline for the EU or all EU governments: if we don’t achieve any radical reforms in five years then the [exit] question will be raised also in Germany,” the combative 41-year-old told the FT during a break from her holiday on the Baltic coast.

Sitting in a seaside café, she blended easily with other tourists in the elegant resort of Warnemünde. But as she spoke, with her usual rapid-fire delivery, she made clear there would be no summer let-up for the AfD. Later the same day she would address a nearby rally in the party’s campaign for elections on September 4 in the local region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.