Federal spokespersons Weidel and Chrupalla received a good result by AfD standards. The elections in the East in particular provided discipline.
Didn’t do as well as ‘beloved Tino’: AfD co-leader Alice Weidel, who had just been confirmed in office Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
TO EAT taz | It was almost reminiscent of the hated CDU: without any rival candidates and without any questions after the application speeches, the far-right AfD re-elected the co-federal speakers Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla as dual leadership at its party conference in Essen. By AfD standards, the elections were almost boring.
Tino Chrupalla came in first place with a result of 82.7 percent and was visibly emotional after there was a lot of internal criticism of him in the run-up to the party congress. Alice Weidel then experienced a surprise: she only achieved 79.8 percent. She is actually considered the designated top candidate for the 2025 federal elections. Weidel seemed a bit indignant afterwards, Chrupalla could barely walk due to her strength.
Otherwise, the AfD disciplined what it saw as the most important elections in the party’s history: the upcoming state elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg. The old new chairmen introduced each other decidedly unanimously. Chrupalla called Weidel “my beloved co-federal spokesperson”, and she returned the favor to her “beloved Tino” in her application speech: “I was actually waiting for your application”, she joked. Both received a standing ovation, which was more dutiful than euphoric; some delegates also sat with their arms folded.
The closed ranks are mainly due to the party’s professionalized radical networks. The vote was a kind of litmus test for the circle around Bundestag member Sebastian Münzenmaier, who is already expected to take over the position of Secretary General from next year. The young careerists are in no way inferior to the ethnic wing when it comes to radicalism, but they are well connected not only in the East, but also with the country leaders in the West, who prefer a more moderate external image to present. world.
Brandner calls for ‘purge of the judiciary’
In his application speech, Chrupalla played his role as a master painter, calling for “resistance to mass immigration” and announcing, with reference to Höcke, that he wanted to “turn the country upside down”. Weidel’s speech was much better rhetorically; she slammed the Greens, but also self-critically called for “better communication” and added that she did not want to be insulted as a “Nazi”.
However, the counter-evidence was not really successful. The application speech of the first deputy in the federal administration, Stephan Brandner, from the Thuringia regional association, which is dominated by the right-wing extremist Björn Höcke, made it clear what is at stake: similar to Höcke a few days ago at During his trial, where he was accused of an SA slogan, Brandner called for a purge and restructuring of the judiciary: “Turn the ballots into arrest warrants!” Those who destroyed our country must be “brought to justice.”
He himself had to admit to the investigation when he presented himself. The AfD has had problems with press freedom for a long time. Brandner was sentenced to pay a fine of 15,000 euros. because he is one Mirror– Journalist called a “fascist”..
The 15th AfD federal party conference in the Grugahalle started in style with the role of victim. Federal President Alice Weidel welcomed the 600 delegates for the upcoming new election of the Federal Executive Council promptly at 10:30 am. “What happens there has nothing to do with democracy!” she shouted, indirectly describing the CDU mayor’s regularly recorded counter-protests against Antifa as fascist.
Weidel leaves Krah a back door open
In her half-hour opening speech, Weidel then gave the AfD delegates present a very experienced and self-assured speech. She cleverly tackled the right trigger points. She compared the Federal Republic of Germany to the real socialist GDR, called for a “second 1989” in view of the state elections, downplayed the dictatorship, spoke of “Merkel’s welcome coup in 2015” with regard to the admission of war refugees, and repeated the racist Sarrazin classic “Germany is abolishing itself” and called for a “migration turnaround”, i.e. deportations. Traffic light ministers must go to the front and the federal government must “finally” leave: “Pack your bags!”, she shouted. So far so undemocratic.
She put a nice spin on the bungled EU election campaign, but also tackled internal party criticism with crooked football metaphors: party work is a team sport, sometimes you have to take someone off the field. The words were addressed to Maximilian Krah and also referred to the much criticized way in which the party leadership subsequently dealt with him Exclusion of the AfD from the ID group in the EU Parliament Because of the trivialization of the SS and the corruption and espionage scandal, he was not allowed to be part of the AfD delegation in Brussels, resulting in violent trench warfare among the ethnic wing. Weidel said of Krah: “Even talented players can get lost.” But she admitted: “If someone has to sit on the bench, he is not out of the team.” So she gave Krah a way back into a possible, newly formed AfD parliamentary group in the EU Parliament. Krah himself was not there, which was probably intended to promote peace.
In the end, Weidel received a standing ovation, although not as long as at previous party conferences. The promised unity of purpose worked, but with a limited euphoria. Agreements before the party conference also ensured that a request for support for Maximilian Krah was withdrawn by the Bavarian regional association. The motion was a clear attack on the party leadership in the run-up to the party conference. In any case, an important point of contention was removed from public view on Saturday morning.
There was considerably less enthusiasm from Chrupalla, who spoke about the Federal Directorate’s activity report. In his speech he also shot in the direction of the controversial EU candidates Krah and Bystron, criticized “careless and unprofessional behavior”: “Some have unnecessarily presented themselves as a target.” We must look more closely at the candidates in the future, he demanded. Krahs were questionable Connections between Russia and China as well as its historically revisionist views were known before it was composed. But that was it for self-criticism.
The racist, right-wing radical brand essence of the AfD could not be inferred from the speeches alone. For example, on the laptop of one delegate was a collection of far-right stickers. In addition to the cynical saying ‘Black Knives Matter’ there was also an allusion on the song by Gigi D’Agostino, instrumentalized from the right to read: “Döp dödö döp,” it said next to AfD fan stickers, a reference to the slogan “Germany for the Germans – foreigners out!” Some delegates came dressed in T-shirts with the words “Full solidarity with Maximilian Krah.”
At the stands of the youth organization Junge Alternative there were similar fan articles about Krah and Sylt, and sticker packages with the keyword ‘Remigration’ were also sold there, as well as the books of the right-wing extremist Publisher Antaios by Götz Kubitschekwhere right-wing extremists like Martin Sellner published their racist revolutionary instructions.