As of: February 24, 2024, 5:13 p.m
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Jackets lie on empty seats in the town hall during the AfD state party conference.
© Christoph Schmidt/dpa
Boos, blockades, protests: In Rottweil, the Southwest AfD staged an unprecedentedly chaotic event.
There is an old power struggle behind this.
Rottweil - The slogan “We can do everything, including government” is emblazoned on the screen on the stage in AfD blue.
But the goings-on in the hall this Saturday give rise to serious doubts about that.
The special party conference of the Southwest AfD was actually supposed to start at 10 a.m., many hours later the members had not even decided on the agenda.
In the Rottweil town hall there is commotion, booing, and even a kind of mutton jump: everyone present has to leave the hall again in order to sort out those who are not entitled to vote.
Indignant, the AfD members trot out of the hall at a snail's pace, only to re-enter a short time later.
Because the hall is hopefully full.
And the regional association is hopelessly divided.
The town hall offers 1,400 seats, but there can't be more because there are safety rules, such as fire protection regulations.
But on Saturday morning there were significantly more AfD supporters than expected.
There is a very long line in front of the building.
AfD party conferences in the southwest are not made up of delegates, but of ordinary members.
Anyone can come, so the number of participants is difficult for the organizers to calculate in advance.
The association has been deeply divided for years.
The opposing camps therefore try to bring as many of their own supporters as possible from all over the country to party conferences.
It soon becomes clear on Saturday that there is not enough space for members, guests and the press.
But members cannot simply be sent away; that would distort the election.
A fierce power struggle is raging in the background.
Basically, there have been two hostile camps for years - the one that supports Bundestag parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel and the one that stands behind Bundestag member Dirk Spaniel.
The state executive board is divided on the issue.
The state chairmen Markus Frohnmaier and Emil Sanzen are part of the Weidel team, while seven board members are considered “Dirkians” - and they currently have the majority.
22 of the 37 district associations had therefore called for a special party conference in Rottweil and the associated board elections in order to finally clarify the balance of power.
After all, important elections are coming up soon, the local, European and federal elections - it's about drawing up lists, about power, offices and positions.
The 22 district associations stand behind Frohnmaier and Sanzen and accuse the seven renegades on the board of a sabotage policy.
The feuding board members in Rottweil fought verbal battles on the open stage for hours, sometimes switching off each other's microphones before the party conference really got started.
The opposing camps in the audience booed.
Spaniel supporters question the legitimacy of the party conference, claiming that members were turned away at the door, making the election contestable.
The hall is searched by security guards during the evacuation because there is a rumor that individual members had several voting machines given to them.
After the evacuation, only members with voting rights are left in the hall; guests must stay outside.
At some point in the chaos, Weidel comes on stage to applause, her speech is brought forward, as a gap filler, so to speak, while the hall is sorted.
“We want to work together to ensure that the state association finds itself in calm waters so that it is prepared for the local and European elections,” said the federal politician.
“We cannot afford to prolong the conflict in the state executive board any further.” Both Weidel and Spaniel have already led the disputed state association in the past.
Spaniel repeatedly tries to mobilize his own troops and grab power.
Only in the afternoon will a meeting leader be elected for the event.
A little more order returns.
At 4 p.m. there is still a debate about the agenda.
Until the very end there was talk of canceling the event.
It remained unclear whether there would ultimately be board elections on Saturday.
dpa