Since the exclusion of Andreas Kalbitz, the AfD has had a tangible argument about the direction. Former “wing” boss Björn Höcke is telling.
- Brandenburg chief Andreas Kalbitz is no longer a member of the AfD .
- The Federal Executive Committee of the AfD decided this in mid-May with a narrow majority - but it is unclear whether the decision can legally exist.
- The Kalbitz case threatens to split the party . A grotesque circular email shows a break in the AfD board (update from May 22, 2:50 p.m.).
Update from May 24, 5:00 p.m .: AfD chief Jörg Meuthen has called for an end to the party's internal criticism of him in the dispute over the expulsion of Brandenburg's former regional head Andreas Kalbitz. He accused Tino Chrupalla and faction leader Alexander Gauland in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung of criticizing him inappropriately. He thinks this is an "overreaction". That goes away again and has to go down, "because it is simply wrong in the matter".
Meuthen was convinced that a majority of the party members supported his course. "I really know the party here behind me," said the federal chairman. He wanted a "right-wing conservative party that is self-confessedly liberal and bourgeois and also patriotic, but not nationalistic and not socialist". The AfD must be free of extremist references. "The firewall to the right must be set," said Meuthen.
According to surveys , the AfD is currently sagging in the voters' favor. In the Sunday trend for Bild am Sonntag , the party lost one point for the second week in a row and came to ten percent. Accordingly, the AfD has lost around five percentage points since February. In the "Trend Barometer" published by RTL and n-tv on Saturday, the AfD came to nine percent.
AfD before the right slide? Weidel and Gauland vs. Meuthen - Grotesque email reveals break
Update from May 22, 2:50 p.m .: After the expulsion of the long-time Brandenburg party leader Andreas Kalbitz, there is obviously a deep rift in the federal executive board of the AfD. This is made clear in a circular signed by AfD leader Jörg Meuthen to the members of the party, to which an appendix written by co-chairman Tino Chrupalla is attached.
Meuthen explains in the Thursday e-mail why a majority of the board had decided to invalidate Kalbitz's membership on the basis of previous contacts in the extreme right-wing milieu. To date, Kalbitz has rejected a clear distancing from the home youth loyal German youth (HDJ) , which according to a judgment of the Federal Administrative Court shows a "kinship with National Socialism".
Alice Weidel and Alexander Gauland in the Bundestag - the AfD parliamentary group leaders go on a confrontation course with party leader Meuthen.
© dpa / Michael Kappeler
Chrupalla in turn explains that the majority of the letters to members had been decided by the board. However, he still believes that it would have been better to first obtain a "meaningful legal opinion" on the question of withdrawing Kalbitz's party membership. Chrupalla's letter was followed by deputy party chairs Alice Weidel and Stephan Brandner , assessor Stephan Protschka and honorary chairman Alexander Gauland.
Gauland also believes that the legal clarification of the Kalbitz party expulsion will also determine the political fate of the top management. "If Mr. Kalbitz shouldn't get it right, before the party court or an ordinary court, then that's just the way it is. But if he is right, it will be difficult for those who have started it, ”said Gauland the mirror. In the dpa interview, he said that Kalbitz would most likely be successful with the challenge. "I have great doubts that the board decision will finally hold."
Meuthen is still calm. "I know the talk, I would follow Bernd Lucke and Frauke Petry, " said the AfD chief, referring to the mirror , referring to two predecessors elected in wing fights as party leader. "But that's not going to happen."
"Right-wing extremist East AfD": Expert considers big AfD bang possible - Out for Meuthen?
Update of May 22, 9.30 a.m .: AfD parliamentary group leader Alexander Gauland expects a success for the Brandenburg ex-regional party leader in the legal clarification after the party expulsion from Andreas Kalbitz . "I have great doubts that the board decision will finally hold," said Gauland dpa. "For the time being, this is not a power struggle, but a legal question." With that, he turns against the party leader Jörg Meuthen , who considers the decision of the party leadership in Kalbitz to be unassailable and sees the majority of the party behind him.
The Jena extremism researcher Matthias Quent does not rule out a split in the AfD in view of the dispute . After Kalbitz was kicked out, it was conceivable that the party would split "into a clearly right-wing extremist East AfD and a still right wing, but not extremist West AfD under the leadership of people like Meuthen," Quent told the dpa. "However, it would fragment the camp considerably and I think it would also weaken the right camp very much."
Quent sees indications that the AfD current around the Thuringian party and faction leader Björn Höcke could prevail. The AfD federal board could be voted out at a special party conference, said Quent. If Höcke succeeds in portraying Meuthen and his comrades-in-arms as splitters on the federal executive board, he can benefit from it and also hope for votes that were not previously assigned to the “wing”. "The risk is high for Jörg Meuthen that he may no longer be party chairman at the end of this conflict and may even leave the party himself."
AfD: Höcke comments drastically on the "Kalbitz case" - directional battle opened?
Update of May 20, 2.35 p.m .: The figurehead of the ultra-right in the AfD, Björn Höcke , has spoken out in the dispute over the party exclusion for his former "wing" colleague Andreas Kalbitz with harsh accusations - the statement of the Thuringian AfD Chefs could be seen as an unofficial starting signal for a struggle to align the AfD.
In Höcke's view, the party's internal power struggle is essentially about the “ basic content orientation ”. "In the past few days, as a member of the AfD, I had the feeling that my party had been attacked," said Höcke in a video of the right-wing publication Deutschland Kurier , which was distributed on YouTube and Facebook on Tuesday.
Under the leadership of Jörg Meuthen and Beatrix von Storch, there is a majority on the AfD federal executive board that "is not capable of compromise - at least it seems - who wants another party that wants a cold party, a market radical party," said Continue humping.
In the video, Höcke said he was firmly convinced that the "global capitalist approach" would lead the AfD to a dead end. "We don't want cold capitalism. We want an ecological, a social, we want a human market economy, ”said Höcke. The conflict about the "Kalbitz case", as Höcke says, is only about people in the foreground. "In the background, it's really about the basic content of our party, the AfD," emphasized Höcke.
AfD power struggle for Kalbitz: Meuthen wants a special party conference and believes the majority of the party behind it
Update from May 20, 10:40 am : AfD chief Jörg Meuthen has called for a special party convention to clarify the directional dispute in the party. Such is perhaps a "very good idea to clarify the majority," said Meuthen the magazine Cicero . He knew the majority of the party members behind his course. The “community of attitudes”, which were centered around Björn Höcke's ideas, had never had a majority in the party.
Meuthen had recently fueled the directional dispute in the AfD, when the federal executive decided at his instigation to exclude the party politician Andreas Kalbitz from Brandenburg . Meuthen justified this with the fact that Kalbitz was a member of the right-wing extremist “Home Youth German Youth”. Together with Björn Höcke, Thuringia's head of state, Kalbitz is the spokesman for the ultra-right forces of the AfD.
AfD: The Kalbitz turning point is on the way - "Endgame for Meuthen"?
Update from May 18, 9.40 p.m .: Is the AfD threatening a power struggle, the split - and in the end the next right- wing slide, after the dispute over right-wing Brandenburg state chief Andreas Kalbitz ? Several German newspapers see this possibility in their comments on Tuesday (May 19).
Party spokesman Jörg Meuthen could be "like his predecessors Bernd Lucke and Frauke Petry " if the "the Völkische" did not leave the party, judged, for example, the Weser courier : "They have disappeared into the sinking". "In East Germany there is a threat of open rebellion against Meuthen, should the Kalbitz be kicked out. The AfD there is not so strong despite figures like Kalbitz or Höcke, but because of them. For Meuthen, the endgame has started. If Kalbitz returns, he will be fine have to go, "writes the Straubinger Tagblatt .
AfD boss Jörg Meuthen - is there a “final” in his struggle with the hard right ex- “wing”?
© dpa / Paul Zinken
"The Kalbitz case should be the beginning of the end of the Meuthen era in the AfD ," comments the Saxon Free Press . "So far, any attempt by a previous chairman to differentiate the party from the right has failed. In the shadow of the corona crisis, the AfD is shedding itself again in no time - as with Bernd Lucke or Frauke Petry before. ”
AfD dispute over Kalbitz: "Endgame for Meuthen"? - Saxon AfD people criticize party leaders
Other statements by Montag point in this direction: Saxon AfD politicians have criticized Kalbitz's expulsion from the party. The decision of the federal executive board went “badly”, said Rolf Weigand, head of the AfD youth organization Junge Alternative, on Monday in Dresden. The board acted on "thin ice". The legal process should have been awaited. So far, there has been one statement against the other: "We are in a state based on the rule of law where it still says: In doubt for the accused."
The Saxon AfD chief Jörg Urban had previously regretted Kalbitz's expulsion and described it as wrong. "The cancellation of his membership should now be examined by an arbitration panel. I am sure that the last word will not be spoken about it yet, ”said Urban.
Berlin's AfD parliamentary group leader Georg Pazderski , however, sees no danger of his party splitting - despite the turbulence surrounding the expulsion. "I don't see that at all, everyone in the AfD is clear about that," Pazderski said on Monday at dpa. The examples Bernd Lucke, Frauke Petry or André Poggenburg would have shown: "Anyone who goes loses."
AfD power struggle? Kalbitz could stay in the party - by legal means
Update of May 18, 14:41: The AFD-law expert Roland Hartwig sees a good chance for Andreas Kalbitz , against the national board decided expulsion from the party to take action. The decision of the board "will not legally exist," said the lawyer and member of the Bundestag of the Süddeutsche Zeitung . Hartwig heads an internal working group to prevent the party from being monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
Kalbitz joined the AfD on March 8, 2013, said Hartwig. However, the statute, which is used to justify the nullity of membership, was only adopted in April 2013. Republican membership was also known. Kalbitz could probably go to the Federal Arbitration Court with good chances . If there is not a quick decision there, he can also sue in an ordinary court , said Hartwig.
After being kicked out of the AfD, Kalbitz remained in the Brandenburg parliamentary group
Update of May 18, 2:41 p.m .: The former AfD state chief of Brandenburg, Andreas Kalbitz , remains a member of the parliamentary group despite his party being kicked out . This was announced by Kalbitz in Potsdam after a special meeting. The Group's rules of procedure have been changed.
"Betrayal of the party": Höcke bursts his collar after Kalbitz is kicked out
Update from May 18, 10:57 a.m .: In view of the current directional dispute in the AfD, Markus Söder sees the party's stance as unmasked. "The AfD has finally shown its true face," said the CSU boss before a CSU board meeting.
It doesn't matter whether the separation from Andreas Kalbitz will be made or not, said Söder. For him, the AfD remains a “central challenge” despite the Corona crisis * . In the end, the AfD will leave "a wreck", "a ruin". It doesn't matter which wing wins out.
Dispute over Kalbitz: AfD chief Meuthen rejects criticism from Höcke
Update of May 18, 9.45 a.m .: A power struggle has broken out in the AfD. After the right-wing board member Andreas Kalbitz was expelled, the party is threatened by a split. Björn Höcke, Thuringia's state chairman and the best-known representative of the right wing in Germany, responded with a declaration of war to party leader Jörg Meuthen . The 48-year-old accuses him of "betrayal of the party" because Meuthen had enforced the exclusion of Kalbitz in the federal executive board (see below). As Höcke explained, he would "not allow our party to be split and destroyed". As the Süddeutsche reports, the holding of a special party conference is being considered as a result of the debate .
AfD chief Chrupalla refers to Kalbitz's great merits
Update of May 18, 9.30 a.m .: AfD chairman Tino Chrupalla criticized the resignation of Brandenburg's head of state Andreas Kalbitz from the party and awarded this "great" merits. This should have been taken into account in the majority decision on the federal executive board regarding Kalbitz's membership, the 45-year-old said on ARD on Sunday evening . He himself campaigned for Kalbitz - unlike his co-chair Jörg Meuthen , who helped to make the decision. Chrupalla, who has his constituency in Görlitz, Saxony, does not see a split in the party . "There is also no division between east and west."
The AfD's course will not change either, he said. "We are a conservative social party," he said. "Nothing will change." The leaders of the parliamentary group, Alice Weidel and Alexander Gauland, also reject the exclusion from Kalbitz.
AfD kick out? Andreas Kalbitz's application for membership
Update from May 16, 8:00 p.m .: The AfD can no longer find the document that should justify the expulsion of the head of the state and parliamentary group, Andreas Kalbitz, from Brandenburg. Kalbitz's application for admission had disappeared, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported, citing party chairman Jörg Meuthen and parliamentary group leader Alexander Gauland. This concludes the conclusion of the ultra-right Kalbitz on Friday.
The federal executive had declared Kalbitz's admission to the AfD void in 2013 because, on his request, he had concealed earlier memberships from the Republicans and the right-wing extremist “home-loyal German youth”. After losing the form, only witnesses who want to remember Kalbitz's statements seven years ago could prove this.
Björn Höcke (r) and Andreas Kalbitz during the state election in Thuringia.
© dpa / Jens Büttner
Meuthen told the FAS that there were at least two witnesses who could remember the examination of the contents of the admission form. Therefore, he "naturally" assumes that the expulsion will endure. Otherwise the board would "certainly not have done that".
Gauland, on the other hand, told the newspaper that he “considered this story to be completely wrong legally”. Kalbitz had already announced on Friday that it would appeal against the decision.
AfD: Andreas Kalbitz is combative after being kicked out - "Don't kick out"
Update from May 16, 2020: Former AfD head Andreas Kalbitz has called on his supporters to remain in the AfD . "I ask you warmly: Do not resign, we will of course continue. Responsibility for our country is more important than individuals, ”said Kalbitz in a Facebook video on Friday evening.
In addition, Kalbitz noted that the last word had not yet been legally spoken. The federal group leaders Alice Weidel and Alexander Gauland had expressed a similar opinion on Friday evening.
AfD federal executive board makes Ernst - Kalbitz no longer a member of the AfD
First report: Potsdam - It is a significant turning point in the history of alternatives for Germany . The federal executive of the AfD on Friday excluded the Brandenburg head of state Andreas Kalbitz from the party. The reason for the exclusion are contacts in the extreme right-wing milieu, which Kalbitz is said to have kept silent in part. The decision was made by the Federal Executive Board with seven votes in favor against five against. Kalbitz , who, as a close confidant of Björn Höcke, was part of the extreme right wing, announced that it would take legal action.
AfD: Exclusion from Andreas Kalbitz - Brandner calls for federal party convention
With the decision, AfD chief Jörg Meuthen prevailed, who had brought about the vote on Kalbitz. The expulsion was carried out according to the decision "because of the concealment of membership" in the right-wing extremist, now banned " home youth loyal German youth (HDJ) ". In addition, Kalbitz did not indicate membership in the party The Republicans in the 90s. The HDJ is one of the organizations on the AfD's incompatibility list . Active or former members of the groups listed there may not be admitted to the AfD.
Kalbitz excluded from the AfD: Gauland considers decision "wrong and dangerous for the party"
After the meeting, Meuthen said to several television stations that the board of directors had "assessed the legal question of whether the conditions that led to Mr. Kalbitz's admission in 2013 were legally correct or not." The majority of the board came to the conclusion that "they are not". Kalbitz , who left the board meeting after the decision, said: "This is not the end of the story." It is not a question of content, but of a "power struggle". AfD parliamentary group leader Alexander Gauland told the ARD that he considered the decision "wrong and dangerous for the party". He also doesn't think "that it is legal". Gauland is considered the most important sponsor of Kalbitz in the AfD. AfD Federal Vice Brandner wrote about the short message service Twitter, "now and urgently" a federal party conference is needed , at which each board member can explain the reasons for his decision for or against Kalbitz .
7: 5: 1 ... I mean, we now urgently and urgently need a federal party conference in which every BuVo member can explain his reasons for his decision. Incidentally, I was with the five. https://t.co/gz7PQ9RkWP
- Stephan Brandner (@StBrandner) May 15, 2020Andreas Kalbitz: AfD head of state and board member excluded from party
The 47-year-old Kalbitz has been a member of the AfD federal executive board since the end of 2017 . Along with Björn Höcke , head of the Thuringian state and parliamentary group, he is one of the leading figures in the ultra-right wing in the AfD, which had recently formally announced its dissolution. Kalbitz was a top candidate in the state election in Brandenburg in September, in which the AfD took second place with 23.5 percent of the vote. Kalbitz joined the AfD in its founding phase in spring 2013. Born in Munich, who only moved to the east years after the turn, has been a member of the Potsdam Landtag since October 2014. In April 2017 he inherited Gauland as the AfD state chair in Brandenburg, and since the end of 2017 he has been the parliamentary group leader.
AfD exclusion: SPD politician demands Kalbitz to resign from the state parliament
From his past, new links to the right-wing extremist camp have become known in recent years. Such was Kalbitz in 2007 at a Pentecostal camp of the HDJ. From the end of 2014, he was chairman of the "Archive of the Time" association, which was co-founded by a former SS Hauptsturmführer. The Brandenburg SPD parliamentary group leader Erik Stohn asked Kalbitz to also resign from his state parliament . A single party exclusion does not change the fact that the Brandenburg AfD from Kalbitz is "squaded through". Brandenburg's CDU general secretary Gordon Hoffmann said that despite the expulsion, right-wing extremism "will continue to have a permanent place in the AfD".
An SPD politician was elected second mayor with the help of an AfD man - which is why he is at risk of being excluded from the party.
fd with AFP