The party leadership of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Sunday voted to replace its “Young Alternative” (JA) group with a new one under greater party oversight.
The decision, ahead of Germany’s early February 23 parliamentary election, comes in light of Germany’s domestic intelligence service having classified the JA as a confirmed extremist movement.
What changes are planned?
The JA is relatively independent. Members of the association — with the exception of the board members — do not have to be in the AfD.
That would not be possible in the new organization, except for under-16s, who would not yet be able to join the AfD as members.
The board’s proposal was approved after a lively debate at a two-day party conference in the eastern German town of Riesa, having achieved the two-thirds majority required for the rule change.
Board members have suggested the name “Patriotic Youth” for the organization.
A now-adopted change in the statutes stipulates that the youth organization’s activities “must not contradict the order and principles of the party.”
It says the AfD and its youth organization — for members up to the age of 36 — should “promote each other’s activities to the best of their ability.”
The party leadership has long been dissatisfied with the JA, saying its difficult-to-control activities could bring the entire party into disrepute.
Germany’s BfV domestic intelligence services in 2023 said it had found indications that there was enough evidence that the JA had aspirations against the free democratic basic order for it to be treated as a confirmed right-wing extremist organization.
The AfD leadership hopes that the reform will give it more control over misconduct in the JA. Experts also see the motivation as being that the AfD Youth, if it is no longer an independent association, would be better protected from any possible ban.
The BfV is monitoring the national AfD party as a suspected right-wing extremist group, with several state-level party organizations already having classified as such.
How optimistic is the AfD about its electoral prospects?
On Saturday, the party’s 600-odd delegates approved co-leader Alice Weidel as the AfD’s chancellor candidate ahead of the general election.
The vote caps an eventful week for Weidel, who on Thursday was hosted by Donald Trump ally and Tesla tycoon Elon Musk for a wide-ranging livestream on his X social media platform.
The AfD is in second place in opinion polls, averaging 20% percent, while one survey on Saturday gave them 22%.
The conservative CDU/CSU is leading at 31% while Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats are battling for third place with their Green coalition partners on 15% and 14% respectively.
In her speech, Weidel bashed the CDU/CSU, branding them a “party of cheats” and adding that her goal was to overtake them.
Despite the high showing, the AfD has little chance of being part of Germany’s next government. Because of Germany’s Nazi past, cooperation with the far-right remains a major taboo there.
rc/lo (AFP, dpa)
