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Germany’s far-right AfD weakened by infighting amid coronavirus crisis

A long simmering row between the leaders of Germany's far-right AfD party and its radical fringe has boiled over, sapping their strength as Chancellor Angela Merkel climbs in the polls.

Published: 18 May 2020 08:45 CEST

Germany's far-right AfD weakened by infighting amid coronavirus crisis

Björn Höcke and Andreas Kalbitz on October 27th 2019. Photo: DPA

As voters look for steady leadership amid the coronavirus outbreak, the Alternative for Germany party, which had capitalised on fears linked to the large 2015-16 refugee influx, has struggled to keep a lid on increasingly toxic infighting.

A feud between populist ultra-conservatives and elements in the party with ties to the right-wing extremist scene came to a head over the weekend after the party board ousted one of its state leaders, Andreas Kalbitz.

Kalbitz, who ran the AfD's operations in Brandenburg, the large rural state surrounding Berlin, had concealed his past membership in a neo-Nazi outfit, “German Youths Loyal to the Fatherland”.

The censure spearheaded by the party's relatively moderate co-leader Jörg Meuthen was seen as part of a strategy to maintain the AfD as a viable alternative for middle-class voters turned off by an association with radical skinheads.

“We are a traditional conservative party,” Meuthen, an economics professor, told ARD public television.

“We need to demonstrate cohesion but we also need to clearly distance ourselves from extreme-right positions.”

'Political mistake'

Kalbitz ominously warned the party had committed a “political mistake” and vowed to challenge his ouster in court.

“If this decision was motivated by the hope of being accepted by the established parties and our political rivals, it will fail,” he told ARD.

Kalbitz's expulsion sparked an outcry among the most radical AfD faction led by Björn Höcke, who is believed to represent about one-third of the party's supporters and whose star has been rising for months.

Deploying rhetoric resonant of 1930s fascism, Hoecke posted a video message accusing the AfD leadership of “treason against the party”.

“I will not allow our party to be divided and destroyed – and I know our members and our voters see this the same way I do,” he said.

The party's leader in AfD stronghold Saxony, Jörg Urban, threw his support behind Kalbitz while MP Frank Pasemann wrote on Facebook that “Meuthen and co. are undermining the principles of the rule of law to banish a valued party colleague”.

Meuthen hit back on Sunday, saying Hoecke should “watch his own behaviour instead of accusing other people of 'treason'”.

The AfD power struggle escalated in March when the radical fringe around Höcke known as the “Wing” was placed under police surveillance due to association with known neo-Nazis and suspicion of posing a “threat” to German democracy.

The AfD managing board, which started out seven years ago as a eurosceptic outfit before shifting focus to immigration, scrambled to isolate the radicals.

In early April, Meuthen floated the idea of a formal schism but backed down in the face of an uproar within the party.

'Exploiting the demonstrations'

The discord has led the party to shed support among conflict-averse German voters, against the backdrop of the upheaval wrought by the coronavirus pandemic.

Although it remains strong in the economically depressed ex-communist east, the AfD is struggling in the rest of the country and currently polling at about 10 percent, down from nearly 13 percent in the 2017 general election.

Meanwhile Merkel, whose resignation the AfD has demanded for years, has garnered international praise for her handling of the outbreak.

Her Christian Democrats have surged to 38 percent support, as voters say they trust the veteran leader and trained scientist to see them through the crisis, which has been far less devastating in Germany than for many of its European partners.

The AfD has tried to harness the anger of a small but vocal minority who have staged noisy protests against the stay-at-home measures imposed to fight the virus. Several thousand people took to the streets across Germany on Saturday.

“We are seeing a trend in which extremists, particularly those on the right, are exploiting the demonstrations,” the head of the domestic intelligence service, Thomas Haldenwang, told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

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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.