Party congress in Riesa: AfD enables individual leadership – first victory for Björn Höcke

Created: 06/18/2022, 07:15

By: Katja Thorwarth, Christian Stör

The AfD party conference in Riesa will continue on Saturday.

The election of the chairperson is on the agenda.

• From Friday (June 17) to Sunday,

  the

  AfD

  party conference will take place in the eastern German town of

  Riesa

  .

• 600 delegates elect a new

  AfD board

  .

  It is unclear whether Björn Höcke will run for office.

• Follow the events at the

  AfD party conference

  in Riesa here in our news ticker.

Update from Saturday, June 18, 7:15 a.m .:

The AfD continues its federal party conference in Riesa on Saturday (10 a.m.) with the vote on a new leadership.

The election of at least the closer party leadership was actually planned for Friday afternoon;

however, there were significant delays, partly because of a lengthy debate on the agenda.

An amendment to the articles of incorporation was passed, according to which individual leadership should also be possible in the future. 

Party congress in Riesa: AfD enables individual leadership – and wants new nuclear power plants

+++ 19:29:

The AfD will only choose its party leadership on Saturday.

The delegates at the federal party convention in Riesa decided on Friday evening not to deal with this item until the following day.

The three-day meeting will focus on replacing the leadership of the party.

The posts in the entire federal executive board will be reassigned.

It is not yet clear whether one or two chairpersons will be elected.

AfD wants new nuclear power plants for Germany

+++ 18:09:

The AfD wants new nuclear power plants to be built in Germany.

"End ideological energy policy - new nuclear power plants for Germany," says a resolution that was adopted on Friday at a federal party conference in Riesa, Saxony, with a large majority.

"Modern nuclear power is one of the most important building blocks in the energy mix of the future," says the AfD, whose delegates debated the details of the resolution at length.

The top personnel of the AfD - coming and going

View photo gallery

AfD party conference: Höcke motion receives majority

+++ 3.35 p.m .:

Björn Höcke celebrates a first small victory at the federal party conference of the AfD.

From now on, the party can also be led by just one chairman.

Höcke's proposal to change the statutes, according to which a single head should also be possible, received the necessary two-thirds majority in Riesa.

348 out of 506 delegates voted in favor of the change.

The previously valid statutes provided for "two or three" federal spokesmen - that's the name of the chairmen in the AfD.

+++ 2.50 p.m .:

The debate about the number of federal speakers has begun.

In the meantime, AfD chairman Tino Chrupalla has announced that he intends to lead his party on a "free and social" course over the next two years.

On the sidelines of the party congress, his challenger for the top office, Norbert Kleinwächter, campaigned for a return to the “liberal-conservative” beginnings of the party founded in 2013.

The member of the Bundestag said: “The basic program states that we are liberals and conservatives.

It doesn't say we're social."

+++ 2:00 p.m .:

Now Saxony’s country manager Jörg Urban speaks.

After that, it will be about nuclear energy.

AfD party conference in Riesa: the agenda was decided

+++ 1:20 p.m .:

A result: After the greeting from the AfD state association, it will first be about AfD positions on nuclear power.

The final vote decides when personal details will be decided.

It will probably be about a factual issue (nuclear energy) before it is decided whether the AfD will elect one or two party leaders.

One application was accepted among others: the "non-consideration" of an application that dealt with the ban on Andreas Kalbitz appearing at AfD events.

This application will not be dealt with, so Andreas Kalbitz should not be an issue at the party conference.

Party congress in Riesa: AfD sinks into amendments

+++ 1 p.m.:

All applications are currently being sorted.

It is possible that the debate about content will be split.

First of all, however, a vote is taken as to whether all amendments will not be dealt with, keyword: "non-consideration".

Individual party-political content and the extent to which these should be treated according to personal data are now being voted on.

+++ 12.30 p.m .:

Now it’s being discussed: First content or first personal details?

Incidentally, there is no motion to ban amendments.

The application procedure at the AfD is slowly becoming confusing.

It is clear that the main motion is about the order of the items on the agenda.

However, this debate is interrupted by numerous points of order.

A critic just had his microphone cut off.

AfD party conference in Riesa: excitement about the non-admission of Berlin AfD MPs

+++ 11.37 a.m .:

After various personal details, it should now be agreed in which order the topics are dealt with.

Or first an application is being negotiated as to whether “free media” can also be admitted after a period has expired.

Specifically, it is about "Compact".

The request is granted.

+++ 11.05 a.m .:

The non-admission of the 24 Berlin delegates caused a stir.

On Thursday, the Berlin regional court rejected an urgent application by the state executive board against a decision by the AfD federal arbitration court.

The election of the delegates at a state party conference was ineffective according to the assessment of the arbitral tribunal.

AfD Federal Vice Beatrix von Storch is accused of unduly influencing the selection of candidates.

The motion to admit the Berliners after all was not dealt with further at the party congress by the leader of the meeting.

AfD party conference in Riesa: It is unclear whether Björn Höcke will run for the board elections

+++ 11.00 a.m .:

At the moment it is still unclear whether Björn Höcke will stand for election as a federal board member.

On Friday morning he said he felt "very comfortable" in Erfurt.

First of all, a decision is made on an application to basically allow a single leadership or double leadership.

A two-thirds majority would be required to amend the bylaws.

A simple majority would then determine whether only one chairman should be elected at this party conference or whether there should be two federal speakers for the next two years. 

In a motion for the party congress, supported by Höcke, Chrupalla and honorary chairman Alexander Gauland, among others, the establishment of a commission to prepare a “party structural reform” is called for.

The proposals contained therein would probably place tighter limits on the creative freedom of the party leadership to be newly elected than before.

AfD party conference in Riesa: Eleven applications to the agenda are pending

Update from Friday, June 17, 9:20 a.m.:

The AfD party conference in Riesa starts at 10 a.m.

In advance, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Lower Saxony announced that it would classify the AfD as a suspicious object.

This emerges from the report for 2021 presented by Interior Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) on Thursday.

In Lower Saxony, for example, the youth organization of the AfD had previously been classified as a suspicious object, but not the entire party. 

AfD party conference in Riesa: 600 AfD delegates have the choice

First report from Thursday, June 16:

Riesa/Frankfurt – From Friday (June 17) to Sunday (June 19) around 600 AfD delegates will meet in Riesa in Saxony to elect a new party leadership.

Since the departure of former co-boss Jörg Meuthen, Saxon Tino Chrupalla has been leading the AfD alone.

Chrupalla wants to compete again and will probably have to face Norbert Kleinwaechter, a member of the Bundestag.

This belongs to that wing of the party that describes itself as moderate.

"Let's completely renovate the party and give it a new coat of paint," wrote the 36-year-old in an "Agenda for the party chairmanship".

The paper is available to the dpa.

The AfD MEP Nicolaus Fest is running as second chairman (co-speaker).

Others have not yet officially announced their intention to run.

Before the AfD party conference in Riesa: Björn Höcke comments on the dual leadership

First, however, the party congress has to decide whether it should remain with a single leader or whether the AfD will get a leadership duo again.

The Thuringian AfD right-wing extremist Björn Höcke commented on this question on Facebook.

In the past, the AfD had “unfortunately had little luck in choosing the federal spokesman”: “A spokesman regularly presumed to impose his very personal ideas on the whole party.”

However, Höcke does not see the “double leadership principle” as a “permanent solution”, rather it requires federal spokesmen: “who, regardless of which trend they belong to, develop the power to integrate across all camps”.

The party conference could show whether Höcke is keeping an eye on himself.

Another unclear personality is Alice Weidel.

According to media information, she wants to give up her state presidency in Baden-Württemberg.

Now it is speculated that she could also run for the post of AfD leader.

Chrupalla counter-candidate Kleinwächter sees AfD before party congress as “conservative-liberal people’s party”

In addition to Höcke, Alexander Gauland also spoke up.

Despite the poor results in the past state elections in the west, he sees no east-west divide.

In his own words, he also does not expect that a “directional decision” will be made in Riesa.

“The party is a clear opposition party.

She should stay that way.

Any attempt to turn us into some kind of government likeness I would consider wrong.

But I don't think that's a problem at this party congress," said Gauland.

Chrupalla's opponent, Kleinwächter, has other goals as a possible new federal spokesman: "Let's represent positively what we want and what we stand for, and not just be against it." The AfD is a "conservative-liberal people's party" with "reasonable and legitimate positions “.

He described the recent loss of votes in the state elections in the west of the country as threatening the existence of the country.

The AfD party conference is expected to start at 10 a.m. on Friday and end on Sunday.

(Katja Thorwarth)