As of: February 13, 2024, 9:36 a.m
By: Andreas Schmid
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Which parties should the Free Voters form a coalition with outside of the Union?
It should under no circumstances be the AfD, it says in an application.
The position on the “incapable of governing” left is unclear.
On February 17th, the Free Voters will meet in Bitburg for the federal party conference.
Actually, the program for the European elections should then be decided.
Before the meeting, the party is mainly concerned with one topic: how to deal with the AfD.
Free voters' application for a ban on cooperation with the AfD
The Koblenz district association submitted a motion calling for a ban on cooperation with the AfD.
Accordingly, the federal party conference should decide “that cooperation between the Free Voters and the AfD is not permitted under any circumstances”.
The application is available to
IPPEN.MEDIA
and includes not only coalitions or factions with the AfD, but also supporting AfD candidates for political office or coordinating the content of the work.
The application speaks of a “radicalization” of the AfD, which represents “a serious threat to our democratic, liberal values.”
The AfD’s current poll numbers are “more than worrying”.
The Free Voters are therefore called upon to “prevent a takeover of our state by those who despise the system and enemies of democracy.”
It concludes: “Our country has a history that has caused immeasurable suffering and the death of many millions of people.
Our generation is not to blame for this, but it is responsible for learning from this history and ensuring that it does not repeat itself.”
“Our voters want clarity”
The application was initiated by the Free Voters of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Several district associations of Free Voters support the application, as does the state association of Free Voters Schleswig-Holstein.
Their country chief Gregor Voht said in an interview with our editorial team: “It makes sense to make this decision.
Our voters want clarity that the firewall supports the AfD.
The existing incompatibility resolutions are thus confirmed.” The Free Voters had already passed an incompatibility resolution against the AfD in 2021.
Voht is also the general secretary of the Free Voters and is therefore the strong man at Hubert Aiwanger's side.
The party leader also supports the motion.
General Secretary Gregor Voht with party leader Hubert Aiwanger.
© STEFAN ZEITZ/Imago (archive image)
Other party members from Bavaria such as the former Minister of Culture Michael Piazolo, the deputy federal chairwoman Gabi Schmidt and Bavaria's Digital Minister Fabian Mehring have already spoken out in favor of the application.
“Anyone who, like me, has personally experienced the total parliamentary failure of the AfD in the Bavarian state parliament over the last five years knows that no state can be made with this force,” says Mehring when asked.
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However, Mehring describes the application as incomplete.
“I advocate a clear demarcation against extremists of all kinds – regardless of whether they come from the left, right, racism or anti-Semitism.” A further proposal from Birkenfeld in Rhineland-Palatinate also goes in this direction.
This not only calls for a ban on cooperation with the AfD, but also generally with “extreme political forces on the left and right spectrum”.
“Others” only have “the AfD in mind” and would “stare at it like a rabbit at a snake,” it is said.
The Free Voters should stand up “against every form of extremism”.
Bavaria’s Digital Minister Mehring: “The Left is completely incapable of governing”
It is not described which parties are labeled extremist.
The initiator of the application left a request for comment unanswered.
This also leaves it unclear whether collaboration with the Left should be allowed.
The CDU/CSU has passed a corresponding incompatibility resolution.
FW General Secretary Voht says: “Extremist is what the Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies as left-wing or right-wing extremist.” In contrast to parts of the AfD, the Left will not do that.
Bavaria's Digital Minister Mehring does not see any cooperation with the Left Party: "I consider what is left of 'The Left' to be completely incapable of governing and therefore not capable of forming a coalition."
The Free Voters seem to be united on the AfD issue.
According to IPPEN.MEDIA
information , acceptance of the cooperation ban
is considered certain.
However, there are also headwinds.
Another application from the Free Voters Nienburg/Weser in Lower Saxony wants to stop the AfD application.
The AfD issue would overshadow the actual issue of the European election program “and thus harm our party at this point in time.”
We also have this application before us.
The decision at the party conference is seen as pointing the way for a possible entry of the Free Voters into the Bundestag.
In 2021 they clearly missed the five percent hurdle at 2.4 percent.
In current surveys they are usually at three to four percent.
Aiwanger wants to change that and enter the Bundestag in 2025.
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