The AfD is celebrating its party conference on the weekend in Dresden.
The focus is on an increasingly violent dispute over the top candidates for the federal election.
The party conference of the AfD * will take place on April 10th and 11th in Dresden.
One main question: with which top candidates will the opposition party run for the federal election at the end of September?
Behind the scenes, things are already simmering on this matter.
This news ticker is updated regularly.
Dresden / Munich - The AfD is entering the federal election campaign under unfavorable circumstances: leadership dispute, an unclear course in Corona * policy and the issue of the protection of the Constitution have a negative impact on the party's image.
Most recently, the state elections in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate resulted in a loss of votes of around a third each.
At the party congress on April 10th and 11th in Dresden, the AfD wants to adopt its federal election program.
Many topics are on the agenda - but the focus is particularly on the question of the top candidates.
AfD party congress: decision on top candidates despite online survey in Dresden?
Only recently had AfD parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel called for a quick clarification of the top candidate question and criticized party leader Jörg Meuthen.
In their view, the congress could decide Weidel said over
Welt.de
.
"The federal party congress as the highest body of the AfD and the place for the debate would have been quite suitable," said Weidel.
Meuthen had, however, put through a questioning of the members in the federal executive board as to whether the top candidates should be determined by a basic decision.
In the online survey, 86.6 percent of the participating AfD members spoke out in favor of having the candidates determined by all members.
Nevertheless, leading forces of the right-wing national camp are urging a clarification on site in Dresden on April 10th and 11th.
AfD party convention: Meuthen wants to prevent top candidate team from Weidel and Chrupalla
One of the candidates is co-party leader Tino Chrupalla.
He is supported by the East German state associations as well as Weidel and Gauland, which were top candidates in 2017.
The 45-year-old succeeded Gauland as AfD federal chairman at the end of 2019.
He wanted to be "a strong voice from the East," he said after his election as party leader.
His claim to overcome the rifts between East and West together with Meuthen has so far remained a theory in view of the bitter struggle for direction in the AfD.
A team made up of Weidel and Chrupalla, on the other hand, wants to prevent Meuthen because it does not reflect the various currents in the AfD.
The 42-year-old is considered a bitter opponent of Meuthen.
It is well networked with the right-wing national forces of the formally dissolved “wing”.
The Meuthen camp, meanwhile, brought in the Bundestag member Joana Cotar, who can imagine a candidacy with Chrupalla.
AfD party conference in Dresden: motion to deselect Jörg Meuthen
At the AfD party conference, a motion submitted by 50 members to vote out Jörg Meuthen will also play a role.
However, within the party, it is doubted that this will come through and that the AfD will completely reorganize itself at the start of the federal election campaign.
In addition, the party wants nationwide referendums on topics such as currency, migration, Islam and energy.
Under the heading “The people must become sovereign again”, the AfD questions the political system.
The rulers are accused of "totalitarian behavior", the citizens are influenced by controlled media.
The main motion for the party congress contains further already known AfD demands.
These include: exit from the euro, return to conscription, abolition of the license fee, ban on minarets, promotion of the traditional family, preservation of nuclear and coal energy.
* Merkur.de is
an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
(mbr with dpa)
