Press
Will the AfD soon be working openly with right-wing extremists? One AfD member even raves about a “milestone”.
Munich – Brandenburg’s AfD leader sounded quite irritated: René Springer said he believed that something like this was impossible. The incident had “shocked” him. In order to contain the damage, he announced exclusion proceedings against three of his party colleagues, among other things for “serious violations of the party’s principles”. The proceedings have now been decided. Issue settled?
The reason for the excitement is explosive: Springer’s AfD colleagues founded two faction communities at the local level on Monday – with the small right-wing extremist party Die Heimat, formerly the NPD. In future, they will work together in the town of Lauchhammer and in the district council of the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, according to a statement from Heimat. Its deputy regional leader Thomas Gürtler even raved about a “milestone” and the “beginning of a larger movement”. He also thanked AfD leader Tino Chrupalla, for whom there are no municipal firewalls.
That was a bit over the top and sounded like a dam had broken. The NPD successor party is on the AfD’s incompatibility list, so cooperation is taboo so far. The list is controversial within the AfD, and the ethnic part in particular is not keen on demarcations. It is also no secret that there are cross-connections between the AfD, Heimat and other radical groups, particularly in the East. But open cooperation?
AfD wants to form new faction “The Sovereignists”
Brandenburg’s AfD, itself suspected of being right-wing extremist according to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, wants this to be understood as an individual action by the three representatives. The fact is: Since the most recent local elections, the AfD has been represented in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district council with 16 of 50 seats – “only” two of them now want to form the new “Home and Future” faction with Homeland Vice-President Gürtler. The same constellation plus another AfD man will work together in the Lauchhammer city council in the future. However, Brandenburg’s AfD wants to file a lawsuit against the name “AfDplus”.
At another level, however, the party seems to be open to cooperation with the most radical forces. Time reported that the delegation in the EU Parliament is planning to create a new group under the name “The Sovereignists”. The formation was supposedly planned for Thursday, and a room had already been rented. The AfD party leadership denied the timing, but not the plan itself.
AfD leader Tino Chrupalla has to fear for his job
The AfD delegation is facing a difficult choice: after the scandals surrounding its top candidate Maximilian Krah, it has no chance for the time being of returning to the far-right ID faction, to which it previously belonged. Krah himself has long been toying with the idea of joining forces with even more radical forces, such as the Polish Konfederacja or the Reconquête party of Islam-hater Éric Zemmour. Krah calls the construct a “hooligan faction,” while others warn of a far-right “scrap heap.” The debate is currently heated, in the EU delegation and in the party itself.
Many are likely to vent their anger at the party conference in Essen this weekend. The way Krah was treated, who was sidelined by party leaders Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel during the election campaign, is of particular concern to the Bavarian regional association. In a motion, it indirectly accused the AfD leadership of falling for a smear campaign against Krah and second-placed Petr Bystron. It is uncertain whether Chrupalla and Weidel will remain party leaders. Chrupalla in particular, it is said, must fear for his position. (Marcus Mäckler)
#AfD #homeland #bargain #basement