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AFD politician Joana Cotar
Photo:
Bernd von Jutrczenka / dpa
AfD politician Joana Cotar says she has left the party and the right-wing populist parliamentary group in the Bundestag.
This step was not easy for her "after almost ten years," said Cotar on Monday.
"After all, I helped build the party in Hesse."
The Hessian politician accused the AfD of "crossing too many red lines".
She counted the "pandering to the dictatorial and inhuman regimes in Russia, China and now also Iran", the "opportunism and constant bullying in the fight for posts and mandates" and "the establishment of corrupt networks in the party".
“I stood and stand for a constructive, liberal-conservative policy based on the Basic Law,” Cotar said.
These included "the principle of personal responsibility, the recognition of achievements, a lean state, freedom of expression without censorship or surveillance, and genuine patriotism."
She will continue to work for this in the future as a member of the Bundestag.
as /AFP