This coming Saturday, the AfD deputy Joachim Paul from Rhineland-Palatinate candidate for the state presidency of his party. Shortly before, he was now removed from his post as chairman of the media committee in the Rhineland-Palatinate state legislature. For his resignation voted the committee representatives of the SPD, CDU, FDP and Greens.
Paul, who is also deputy fraction leader of the AfD in Rhineland-Palatinate, had not appeared at the special meeting of the panel in Mainz. He is one of the most prominent AFD representatives in the country.
The other four factions in the state parliament had requested his deselection, because they see evidence of right-wing ideas at Paul. Among other things, he is accused of writing a contribution to a journal close to NPD years ago. According to media reports, he wrote under the pseudonym Karl Ludwig Sand. To this authorship he should have told the media committee the untruth. Paul has repeatedly denied writing for the magazine.
The meeting of the media committee convened the Rhineland-Palatinate President of the Hendrik Hering (SPD). All committee members except for Paul demanded in a request the deselection. The AFD member himself doubts the legitimacy of the special meeting on his deselection and wants to have it legally examined.
Brandner threatens deselection in Bundestag committee
In the Bundestag threatens meanwhile the AfD deputies Stephan Brandner the deselection as a chairman of the legal committee. The politician had been repeatedly criticized for his comments. However, he does not see an occasion to "row back". He was convinced that "you have to agree with him," said Brandner.
Should he actually lose his post this Wednesday, that would be a fatal signal, which in the long run would lead to the chairmen being made "tame". The group said that for the time being it did not want to appoint an alternative candidate for committee chairmanship from among its ranks. The group stands behind Brandner, emphasized the first parliamentary managing director Bernd Baumann.
After the reactions of Brandner to the terrorist attack in Halle, the Legal Committee had distanced itself from its chairman. His apology in plenary was criticized by the other factions as half-hearted.
When Brandner then called the award of the Federal Cross of Merit to the AfD-critical singer Udo Lindenberg as "Judas pay", called for the other parties again his resignation. Since the 53-year-old denied this, he should be voted out this Wednesday.