COPY LINK

POLITICS

Will Germany’s far-right AfD become more radical after upcoming leadership vote?

The far-right AfD is choosing new leaders on Saturday in a vote shaped by an increasingly powerful radical wing which wants a rethink of the country's culture of atonement for Nazi crimes.

Published: 28 November 2019 09:01 CET

Will Germany's far-right AfD become more radical after upcoming leadership vote?

An AfD party day in Neuhof, Hesse, in October. Photo: DPA

The anti-migrant party's radicals have the upper hand following a series of electoral gains in eastern regions in September and October that have caused widespread domestic and international concern.

A few days ahead of the vote at the party conference, only one member of Alternative for Germany (AfD) has officially put forward their candidacy for the job.

Lawmaker Gottfried Curio, 59, is known for his strident anti-migrant speeches but does not have broad support in the party and is seen as having few chances.

The real drama will come on Saturday when candidates will pitch for the support of some 600 delegates at the conference in Brunswick in northwest Germany.

Of the party's two current co-leaders, Jörg Meuthen is expected to seek a new mandate while Alexander Gauland has said he will only decide on the day depending on who else comes forward.

'An anarchic clique'

The party, which was only established six years ago, is riven with personal and ideological rivalries and Gauland himself called it “an anarchic clique”.

Meuthen, a university professor from the wealthy Baden-Wurttemberg region in western Germany, represents the more moderate wing of the party.

The suspense is over who, if anyone, will replace the 78-year-old Gauland – a central figure in the party who is also co-leader of its MPs.

Gauland has until now managed to unite the AfD's factions but the growing influence of one group — known simply as “The Wing” – is a challenge.

Alice Weidel and Alexander Gauland, heads of the AfD parliamentary group, in the Bundestag recently. Photo: DPA

The group's leading protagonist is Björn Höcke, the AfD's leader in the eastern region of Thuringia where the party came second in an election in October.

“The Wing” aims to radicalize the party by tackling one of the foundation stones of Germany's post-war political culture — atonement for its Nazi past.

While accusations of links between some of the faction's candidates and neo-Nazi groups have failed to frighten off voters, they have drawn the attention of the secret services to the party's activities.

“The electoral successes of the pre-fascist wing in the eastern regions will accelerate radicalisation,” said Matthias Quent, a researcher specializing in the far-right, quoted by the Swiss daily Tagesanzeiger.

“More and more moderate AfD members are leaving the party,” he was quoted as saying.

Protests in Brunswick expected

One name that different factions could get behind is that of Tino Chrupalla, a 44-year-old MP and former house painter who is expected to put himself forward.

“If I am asked, I will not shirk my responsibilities,” he recently told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Chrupalla has said “The Wing” is an “integral part” of the AfD but has kept his distance from the radicals.

Björn Höcke, chairman of the AfD in Thuringia, celebrating the result. Photo: DPA

Whoever takes over faces a challenge in reviving the party's popularity on a national level.

With 91 MPs, the AfD is now the third political force in the German parliament after the CDU and SPD.

But its support in opinion polls has stagnated at around 13 to 15 percent.

The AfD started out as a eurosceptic party but became increasingly anti-migrant and opposed to Angela Merkel after the German chancellor welcomed around one million asylum-seekers in 2015 and 2016.

Mainstream parties have refused to work with the AfD and therefore prevented it from holding executive power on a national or regional level.

But anti-AfD campaigners are concerned and several protests are expected in Brunswick on Saturday.

Even the German car giant Volkswagen, whose name is on the hall where the conference will be taking place, has asked for its logo to be covered up during the debate.

By Yannick Pasquet

Member comments

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Output is expected to expand 0.3 percent this year, the economy ministry said, up from a prediction of 0.2 percent in February.

The slightly rosier picture comes after improvements in key indicators — from factory output to business activity — boosted hopes a recovery may be getting under way.

The German economy shrank slightly last year, hit by soaring inflation, a manufacturing slowdown and weakness in trading partners, and has acted as a major drag on the 20-nation eurozone.

But releasing its latest projections, the economy ministry said in a statement there were growing indications of a “turning point”.

“Signs of an economic upturn have increased significantly, especially in recent weeks,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said at a press conference.

The ministry also cut its forecast for inflation this year to 2.4 percent, from a previous prediction of 2.8 percent, and sees the figure falling below two percent next year.

“The fall in inflation will lead to consumer demand — people have more money in their wallets again, and will spend this money,” said Habeck.

“So purchasing power is increasing, real wages are rising and this will contribute to a domestic economic recovery.”

Energy prices — which surged after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — had also fallen and supply chain woes had eased, he added.

Several months ago there had been expectations of a strong rebound in 2024, with forecasts of growth above one percent, but these were dialled back at the start of the year as the economy continued to languish.

‘Germany has fallen behind’

But improving signs have fuelled hopes the lumbering economy — while not about to break into a sprint — may at least be getting back on its feet.

On Wednesday a closely-watched survey from the Ifo institute showed business sentiment rising for a third consecutive month in April, and more strongly than expected.

A key purchasing managers’ index survey this week showed that business activity in Germany had picked up.

And last week the central bank, the Bundesbank, forecast the economy would expand slightly in the first quarter, dodging a recession, after earlier predicting a contraction.

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) presents the latest economic forecasts at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, April 24th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

Despite the economy’s improving prospects, growth of 0.3 percent is still slower than other developed economies and below past rates, and officials fret it is unlikely to pick up fast in the years ahead.

Habeck has repeatedly stressed solutions are needed for deep-rooted problems facing Germany, from an ageing population to labour shortages and a transition towards greener industries that is moving too slowly.

“Germany has fallen behind other countries in terms of competitiveness,” he said. “We still have a lot to do — we have to roll up our sleeves.”

Already facing turbulence from pandemic-related supply chain woes, the German economy’s problems deepened dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine and slashed supplies of gas, hitting the country’s crucial manufacturers hard.

While the energy shock has faded, continued weakness in trading partners such as China, widespread strikes in recent months and higher eurozone interest rates have all prolonged the pain.

The European Central Bank has signalled it could start cutting borrowing costs in June, which would boost the eurozone.

But Habeck stressed that care was still needed as, despite the expectations of imminent easing, “tight monetary policy has not yet been lifted.”

In addition, disagreements in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party ruling coalition are hindering efforts to reignite growth, critics say.

This week the pro-business FDP party, a coalition partner, faced an angry backlash from Scholz’s SPD when it presented a 12-point plan for an “economic turnaround”, including deep cuts to state benefits.

Christian Lindner, the fiscally hawkish FDP finance minister, welcomed signs of “stabilisation” in the economic forecasts but stressed that projected medium-term growth was “too low to sustainably finance our state”.

“There are no arguments for postponing the economic turnaround,” he added.