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Rüdiger Lucassen: State head of the AfD in North Rhine-Westphalia
Photo: David Young / dpa
The North Rhine-Westphalian AfD boss Rüdiger Lucassen does not want to run again for the post of state spokesman.
Lucassen announced this in a letter to party members.
The letter is available to SPIEGEL.
The 70-year-old justifies his resignation with a "necessary generation change" and a "rejuvenation in our party".
He wanted to pave the way for the next generation.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, a new state parliament will be elected in May, after which the AfD state association will decide on a new party leadership in early February.
Lucassen has held the position of head of state since 2019 and has also been a member of the Bundestag since 2017.
Lucassen was long considered a representative of the more moderate wing of the AfD and a supporter of Jörg Meuthens.
Recently, however, his position within the party has remained blurred.
Lucassen was once said to have ambitions for one of the two federal spokesman posts.
However, the former colonel does not want his resignation from the state office to be understood as a withdrawal from the party.
In the future he wants to devote more time to his "political work in Berlin," writes Lucassen.
»Out of the infancy«
Lucassen is a defense politician and sits on the defense committee.
In the letter to the members, Lucassen emphasizes that the AfD does not need two leadership positions at the federal level – and is an advocate of a single leader.
"We're in their infancy and shouldn't apprehensively distribute responsibilities," writes the politician.
Anyone who wants to lead a party with government responsibility must also have the courage to »connect responsibility with their person«.
Tino Chrupalla and Jörg Meuthen are currently at the head of the federal party.
Meuthen, who had positioned himself as an opponent of the right-wing current in the party in recent years, no longer wants to run in the next election.
The election of the party leadership was originally scheduled for last December.
However, due to the corona restrictions, it was decided to postpone the planned party conference in Wiesbaden to 2022.
mrc/sev
