AfD party conference in Kalkar: Weidel storms, outraged by TV interview

reThe president of the AfD parliamentary group, Alice Weidel, let a reporter from the television station “Phoenix” stand in the middle of a live interview. The reporter had asked Weidel on Saturday on the sidelines of an AfD federal party conference in Kalkar, North Rhine-Westphalia, the question: “Social policy, the AfD does not agree, should it be more economically liberal, more socially patriotic, they call it, others? They say to go social-nationalist direction? “

Weidel replied, “What address, please?” The reporter replied that he had only quoted a newspaper article without adopting its content. Anyway, turn down the kind of question, Weidel said. “That’s outrageous,” he added, before finally interrupting the interview and leaving without a greeting.

The AfD added a socio-political concept to its program on Saturday and thus closed a previously existing content gap before the 2021 federal elections. The party’s federal congress approved a corresponding motion with guidelines on health policy and proposals for stabilize the pension system. After several hours of debate, nearly 89 percent of the 500 delegates voted for the concept.

Regarding pensions, the AfD demands, among other things, freedom at the time of retirement, abolition of politicians’ pensions, old-age provision for the self-employed and strengthening of private provision. In order to create greater “burden justice” between families and the childless, parents should be reimbursed € 20,000 in pension insurance contributions from each child’s tax income. The demand to limit this to German citizens did not pass.

Gauland attacks Meuthen

AfD President Jörg Meuthen called on his party members in his speech to clearly distance themselves from the rioters and provocateurs in their own ranks. Looking at the intrepid visitors to the Bundestag invited by AfD members, he warned: “We will achieve no more success by appearing more and more aggressive, more and more rude, more and more uninhibited.” Since such incidents also had a deterrent effect on many AfD voters, it is wrong to show solidarity with party members who “enjoy the role of provocateurs”.

The federal government’s policy on the crown pandemic and the conduct of Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) are not appropriate “and certainly not proportionate.” This must also be criticized in clear words. “But is it really wise to speak of a ‘Crown dictatorship’?” Meuthen asked the more than 500 delegates in the room. “We do not live in a dictatorship, otherwise we could hardly hold this party congress today,” he added.

Alexander Gauland, chairman of the AfD parliamentary group, later criticized Meuthen’s speech in an interview with the Phoenix television station. In the speech there was “too much reverence for the protection of the constitution,” Gauland said. Consider what parts of it are “divisive.” Gauland himself had used the term “dictatorship of the Crown” in the Bundestag. One could argue about this term, said in Kalkar. In general, as the reactions in the room had shown, Meuthen “took offense” at his speech.

The two-day party conference began on Saturday, accompanied by small protests. Among other things, delegates want to adopt a pension concept. Furthermore, the party has found a new topic with its fundamental criticism of the state’s anti-crown measures. In his opening speech, AfD president Tino Chrupalla criticized the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU). He accused her of following a “pure bankruptcy policy.” Stocks would be destroyed, the wave of bankruptcies was already underway, the course of the pandemic would cost many people their jobs.

Chrupalla defended that the AfD is holding a conference of the presence party in the corona pandemic. Such events are indispensable in democracy, he said. “If we let a virus put us in our place, democracy has already been lost.” At the same time, Chrupalla appealed to delegates to adhere to the concept of hygiene. “Wear your masks, keep your distance,” he said. The delegates “must not damage the party congress with reckless behavior.”

Police reported a peaceful demonstration

Around 500 opponents of the AfD demonstrated against the party congress. The alliance had called for the demonstration to “oppose racism,” and members of the Bundestag from almost all parties spoke at the demonstration. Police reported in the morning that the event was peaceful. For both protesters and delegates there is a mask requirement everywhere. The public order office had announced that it would also check in the room if the officially approved hygiene concept for the event was being implemented. The city of Kalkar has announced that it will otherwise cancel the party conference.

According to a spokesperson, delegates who are exempt from the mask requirement due to a medical certificate can easily be identified. A photo from the Reuters news agency showed several employees of the public order office during a control in the lobby on Saturday morning. An AfD lawsuit against the requirement to wear mouth and nose protection in the seat was unsuccessful.

In the party congress, two positions on the federal executive committee must also be filled. Treasurer Klaus Fohrmann resigned in January. AfD board member Andreas Kalbitz was denied membership in May because he was said to have hidden his membership from the far-right German Youth (HDJ) and Republicans. The by-elections are scheduled for Sunday.

Birgit Bessin from Brandenburg and European MP Maximilian Krah from Saxony were recently negotiated as possible candidates. Carsten Hütter, who was deputy treasurer before Fohrmann’s resignation and is currently interim responsible for the party’s finances, wants to take over this task permanently.

“AfD on the way to further radicalization”

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) sees the AfD on the road to radicalization. “The forceful anti-Semitism of Björn Höcke, who was re-elected as president of the state of Thuringia, the racist sentiments of many supporters of the AfD, who with some members have an outstretched arm in parliament, the solidarity with the extremists on the street, who make our state and its organs despicable and also before Do not shy away from criminal acts, breaking taboos in the Bundestag, I am convinced that the AfD is on the way to further radicalization ”, Herrmann told the Germany publishing network (RND) and he asked for a corresponding reaction for the protection of the constitution.