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Tens of thousands of counter-demonstrators expected. CDU mayor speaks at counter-demonstration. Will Weidel and Chrupalla remain at the top of the AfD? News ticker for the AfD federal party conference in 2024.
Update from June 28, 10:45 p.m.: Counter-protests have already started in Essen before the AfD’s federal party conference. Under the motto “Bass against Hate”, 4,000 to 5,000 people are said to have walked from Essen’s main station to the exhibition grounds, reported the dpa citing the organizer. The party conference of the AfD, which is in parts right-wing extremist, is to take place on Saturday at the exhibition center. At around 10 p.m., the police reported that the protest was peaceful. A police spokeswoman estimated the number of participants at around 5,000 people.
First report: Essen – Accompanied by what are expected to be tens of thousands of counter-demonstrators, shielded by 4,000 police officers, who have travelled from all over Germany, the AfD is holding its party conference in Essen on Saturday and Sunday. The 600 delegates will elect a new federal executive board. It is questionable whether the current dual leadership of Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla were able to stay at the top. In the run-up to the party conference, there was some evidence that Chrupalla could be voted out. A left-wing alliance announced civil disobedience to block the party conference.
AfD party conference in Essen: Chrupalla and Rye at AfD-Great?
Part of the party leadership could question Chrupalla’s leadership position, reported the Mirror. The dispute after the Maximilian Krah’s expulsion from the party’s EU delegation had turned many against the co-chairman. At the same time, the dispute split the ethnic-nationalist camp of the party into loyalists of the Thuringian state leader Björn Höcke and supporter of Krah.
According to the magazine, they have partially settled their differences. Together they resent Chrupalla for trying to portray the AfD as less radical than it is. In his last re-election, Chrupalla received only 53 percent of the delegates’ votes. Weidel, on the other hand, is considered indispensable in the AfD.
Will the AfD party conference in Essen become a “self-destruction event”?
Chrupalla’s co-spokeswoman Weidel recently spoke out in favour of a new version of the dual leadership with him. Höcke wanted to avoid experiments. An alternative model is a single chairmanship, flanked by a general secretary. The latter position would still have to be created. Mirror claims to have learned that the proposal to structure the office of Secretary General made Chrupalla “very nervous”.
The most important information about the AfD federal party conference:
Where will the AfD party conference take place? | The party conference will take place at the exhibition center in Essen. |
How many people attend the AfD party conference? | About 600 party members are expected. |
Are demonstrations against the AfD party conference planned? | A protest camp with up to 4,000 people plans to demonstrate against the party conference. |
The change in the statutes was requested by a network around the Bundestag member Sebastian Münzenmaier, who is said to have great influence within the party. Höcke also supported the request. On Friday (29 June), Chrupalla described the restructuring in the ZDF-Morgenmagazin, however, as “legitimate”, probably also because it was only applied for in 2025. In addition, the compromise between the Höcke, Krah and Münzenmaier camps could lead to further radicalization of the party at EU level. Most recently, the establishment of a joint parliamentary group with Eastern European neo-fascists was postponed.
Despite all the backroom compromises, political consultant and AfD observer Johannes Hillje held in the Rheinische Post So far, every AfD party conference has become a “self-destruction event”; an exception after the disastrous EU election campaign would be unlikely.
Eat defends itself against AfD party conference
In terms of content, the AfD will continue to follow a radical right-wing course, “because it has been successful in elections so far,” Chemnitz political scientist Benjamin Höhne explained to the German Wave“With her signals to the far right, she has managed to bind the right-wing camp, especially in East Germany, almost completely to her side,” said Höhne. In Thuringia, Höcke’s right-wing extremist regional association is leading the polls. In May, Höcke was sentenced to a fine of 13,000 euros for using the Nazi slogan “Everything for Germany”.
Because of this slogan, Essen’s mayor Thomas Kufen (CDU) tried to terminate the contract between the trade fair and the AfD. It can be assumed that criminal statements will be made at the party conference. After this failed in court, Kufen now wants to put himself at the “head” of the civil protest against the AfD party conference. At the same time, he warned against exceeding the limits of legal protest.
CDU Interior Minister Reul announces hard line against blockades of AfD party conference in Essen
Aside from the civil protest, the alliance “Widersetzen” called for “colorful civil resistance” to block the AfD party conference from Saturday morning (29 June). The broad anti-fascist alliance “Gemeinsam Laut” wants to demonstrate against the party conference from Friday evening and is planning two large demonstrations for Saturday. In total, the police are expecting up to 100,000 counter-demonstrators on Friday, including around 1,000 left-wing extremists. North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) announced a hard line against the blockade actions. (kb with dpa)
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