Election campaign: AfD party conference names Weidel as candidate for chancellor

The AfD is meeting today for a federal party conference in Riesa, Saxony. At the two-day meeting, co-party leader Alice Weidel is to be elected as candidate for chancellor by around 600 delegates. Also on the agenda is the decision on the election program for the federal election. Opponents have called for protests in Riesa. The organizers expect more than 10,000 people.

The highlight of the party conference is Weidel’s freestyle on the first day. The plan is for the candidate to be introduced by co-party leader Tino Chrupalla and then a simple vote by standing up or with a show of hands. There will therefore probably be no exact voting values. Participants expected a high level of support for the 45-year-old, who would then give a speech.

Clarification of open points in the AfD election program

So far, the AfD does not have a finished election program for the upcoming federal election on February 23rd. A draft is available. This calls for, for example, an exit from the EU, the euro and the Paris climate agreement. However, several points are still controversial. There are numerous amendments, for example in the areas of foreign, energy, migration and family policy, which will be debated and voted on in Riesa.

In the draft election program, a so-called Dexit – a German exit from the EU – is explicitly propagated. It is said that this and the establishment of a new European community are necessary. However, amendments aim to defuse this. The aim of a new community should remain the same, but without explicitly calling for Germany to leave the EU.

In any case, this would only be possible through an amendment to the Basic Law with the necessary two-thirds majorities in the Bundestag and Bundesrat. In the Basic Law, the Federal Republic of Germany has committed itself to contributing to the development of the European Union “to achieve a united Europe”.

Conscription and “remigration”

There are also discussions within the AfD on the subject of compulsory military service, the reactivation of which the party advocates in its basic program, but which cannot be found in the draft election program. In parts of the AfD, especially in the east, there were fears that the issue would be rejected by voters against the background of the war in Ukraine. After criticism within the party, conscription should now be included in the election program.

Party right-wing extremist Björn Höcke and others have requested changes in migration policy. Among other things, they want to include the much-discussed word “remigration” in the election program, which does not appear in the draft. The Thuringian AfD state leader and others are also campaigning for the abolition or restriction of the incitement paragraph and the criminal offense of using the symbols of unconstitutional organizations and want to include this in the election program.

The draft of the AfD election program so far states: “The family is the nucleus of our society.” Various applicants demand that the sentence also include the fact that the family consists of father, mother and children. This is also not without controversy. If the party conference decides to do so, it could seem like an indirect disapproval of the lifestyle model of its own candidate for chancellor, who lives with a woman.

“Patriotic Youth” instead of “Young Alternative”

Probably the most controversial item on the agenda revolves around the AfD’s young talent: The AfD leadership and some representatives from state and district associations want the youth organization “Junge Alternative” (JA), which the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies as a “secure extremist effort”, to be implemented replace a new organization called “Patriotic Youth”.

More enforcement and possible protection from bans

All AfD members up to 36 should automatically be members of this youth organization, unlike JA, which is independent. Except for the board members, members do not have to be in the AfD. According to their own statement, the AfD leadership hopes that the reform will result in more action in cases of misconduct.

Experts, such as party lawyer Sophie Schönberger from the University of Düsseldorf, see another motivation for integrating the youth organization into the AfD: “Associations like the Junge Alternative are subject to association law and can be banned much more easily than parties,” she told ZDF in September .

Two-thirds majority required

However, a two-thirds majority is required at the party conference to make the corresponding changes to the AfD statutes. It remains to be seen whether this will come about. The JA is resisting the plans and has presented a counter-motion that is supported by numerous delegates.