The AfD in Tailspin

Update : Lucke now thinks that a break-up may be inevitable.
Sunday evening, time for my weekly post on the state of the AfD. So, without further ado, a look at this week’s carnage.

lucke photo
Photo by JamesReaFotos The AfD in Tailspin 1

NPD

  • The right-wing extremist NPD claims that they are “networking” with AfD functionaries at the local level in Bavaria.
  • Björn Höcke, one of the proponents of the nationalist wing in the AfD and party leader in Thuringia
    • refused to sign an affidavit regarding allegations that he writes pseudonymously for an NPD party journal
    • publicly declared that not each and every member of the NPD should be considered an extremist.

State parliaments

  • Various newspapers report on an alleged “split” in the AfD’s delegation in the Hamburg state parliament.
  • The rift in Thuringia state parliament delegation is very real, though it is not clear what will come out of it.
  • While I’m writing this, it is still an open question if the AfD cleared the electoral hurdle in the Bremen state election. If they remain below 5 per cent, it would be their first electoral defeat since 2013.

National leadership crisis

  • This weekend’s party conference in NRW (a previous conference was called off on procedural grounds), whose sole purpose was to select delegates for the national conference in June has been described as shambolic. The voting procedure may be challenged in court. NRW selects about 20 per cent of the national delegates, who will play a crucial role in any attempts to unseat Lucke as leader.
  • While the party is still waiting for the Bremen result, co-founder Konrad Adam went on the record claiming that he has “evidence” that co-founder Lucke will leave AfD and set up a new party. Lucke said this was “nonsense” but did not directly reject the allegations. I don’t think there is any “evidence”, but this shows how much relationships within the leadership have deteriorated.

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