New Right: Protection of the Constitution: Höcke and Kalbitz central right-wing actors

According to security authorities and experts, the so-called New Right is emerging stronger from the corona pandemic.

The protection of the constitution currently includes two well-known politicians among the most important actors in the scene: “Both Björn Höcke and Andreas Kalbitz are still central actors within the new right-wing network,” said the head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, of the German Press Agency.

Kalbitz was once the state chairman of the AfD in Brandenburg, Höcke is the head of the AfD state party and parliamentary group in Thuringia. Kalbitz was withdrawn from membership in 2020 at the instigation of former AfD chairman Jörg Meuthen, who has since left the party himself.

Observed: «Compact-Magazine» and «Institut für Staatspolitik»

Also very influential within the New Right spectrum are the “Compact-Magazine”, which is classified as a right-wing extremist effort, and the “Institute for State Policy” in Schnellroda (Saxony-Anhalt), which the Federal Office has observed as a suspected case.

The Office for the Protection of the Constitution defines the New Right as an informal network of groups, individuals and organizations in which national conservative to right-wing extremist forces work together.

Jürgen Elsässer is the editor-in-chief of “Compact-Magazin”. The magazine has “established itself as a mouthpiece within the network in the course of the corona pandemic and, as a multimedia company, carries anti-democratic and inhuman positions into society,” judges the domestic secret service.

Hajo Funke: The mandatory vaccination debate plays into the hands of the right

The political scientist Hajo Funke believes that the debate about compulsory vaccination, which was conducted by those responsible in the federal and state governments with little strategic skill, played into the hands of “right-wing extremists such as Alsatians”. Numerous representatives of the New Right were present at the demonstrations against the government measures to contain the pandemic and were also heard by people outside their own scene.

The co-founder and best-known representative of the “Institute for State Politics” (IfS) in Saxony-Anhalt, which is organized as an association, is the publisher Götz Kubitschek, who in turn maintains contacts with a number of members of the AfD. Alsatian and he have known each other for years. Experts don’t necessarily see the fact that Kubitschek’s events and publications appeal more to an academic audience, while the “Compact-Magazine” often chooses a hearty tone, as something that separates them, but rather as a process that involves the division of labor.

Haldenwang: New Right are “spiritual arsonists”

“The New Right acts as a spiritual arsonist,” says Haldenwang. Within the network, the actors filled different roles and functions. Despite their different ideological roots, they share the goal of a cultural revolution from the right.

Through his role as Thuringian AfD state party and parliamentary group leader, Höcke is a relevant player, but he also has great influence within the AfD beyond state borders. “Despite the cancellation of his party membership, Andreas Kalbitz is still a relevant factor, especially in the Brandenburg AfD state association,” analyzes the head of the authorities, Haldenwang.

Kalbitz did not want to comment publicly on his alleged role in the spectrum of the New Right. When asked, Höcke explained: “As a conservative, I live from what has always been true – or I try to do it within the framework of my human inadequacy. No “new” has to precede this foundation of values ​​and this attitude towards life.”

The Federal Arbitration Court of the AfD declared Kalbitz’s membership null and void in the summer of 2020. When he joined the AfD, he was accused of failing to state that he was a member of the now banned right-wing extremist “Heimattreuen Deutsche Jugend” (HDJ) and of the Republicans between late 1993 and early 1994. Kalbitz denies membership in the HDJ. Attempts to take legal action have so far been unsuccessful. In April, the Berlin regional court dismissed a lawsuit brought by the 49-year-old against the federal party. His lawyer announced further legal steps.

Will Kalbitz return to the AfD?

There is now speculation in the AfD as to whether Kalbitz and his supporters are hoping for a more favorable situation for his return to the party under a new federal executive board. He is to be elected in Riesa, Saxony, in mid-June. Hajo Funke believes that Höcke is the “ideological flagship”, Kalbitz a very skilful “authoritarian string puller”.

According to experts, the fact that the spectrum of the so-called New Right is growing is not only due to the fact that in some circles, as a result of the Corona protests, it is no longer frowned upon to reject the political system itself. The offer of the main players on the scene has also diversified. What used to be like a small shop for niche products is developing more and more into a full-range supplier – with special network and information offers, for example for right-wing farmers, conservationists, workers or humanities scholars.

Observation by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution does not harm AfD

Since the AfD has been represented in parliament, there have also been career prospects here – above all as an employee of those MPs who feel attracted to the ideas from Schnellroda. A court ruling from early March that allowed the Office for the Protection of the Constitution to monitor the AfD as a suspected right-wing extremist has probably not done much damage to the party overall – if you look at voter surveys and membership numbers. In any case, no more than the departure of Meuthen or the controversial position within the party on the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.