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Thomas Seitz is an AfD politician from the very beginning. Loud and unpleasant for many. Now he is turning his back on his party because doubts prevail.
Berlin – A lot has built up for Thomas Seitz. Especially in the last few weeks. The result: he can no longer identify with the AfD. That is why the Bundestag member from South Baden has declared his resignation from the party and parliamentary group. In a long statement on his website and its social media channels the 56-year-old explains his reasons for turning his back on the party with effect from March 31st.
Seitz leaves the AfD: Bundestag member speaks of a “system of favoritism”
He struggled with what the party had developed into and spoke of a “system of favoritism”. The decisive factor for the withdrawal was the AfD’s special party conference in Baden-Württemberg at the end of February. Seitz represents the Emmendingen-Lahr constituency.
During the party conference he had already felt the urgent need to resign from the party immediately, but had put this off for weeks and was still torn inside. “But the prevailing feeling is still that of pure disgust for my own party, which I have been supporting for 10 years,” said Seitz.
Video: Beyond the bubble – bold exits from the AfD in focus
Chaotic special party conference of the AfD: tumult and booing in a crowded hall
The AfD Baden-Württemberg party conference on February 24th and 25th in Rottweil was characterized by chaos and tumult. A power struggle between two camps is raging in the regional association. The board members argued openly about whether the event could be held. There were not enough seats available in the hall. In the town hall there were tumultuous scenes, boos, and even a kind of mutton jump: everyone present had to leave the hall again in order to sort out those who were not entitled to vote.
As if nothing had happened, a second party conference was held to vote and change the statutes, said Seitz. The leadership duo – Bundestag member Markus Frohnmaier and state parliament member Emil Sätze, both representatives of the camp around AfD leader Alice Weidel – were able to hold their own in office in the election. Seitz, who belongs to the ethnic wing, speaks in his statement of a “coup by the chairmen”.
Seitz leaves the AfD and makes it clear: “I’m not concerned with a shift to the right”
At the same time, he emphasized the background to his departure: “I am expressly not concerned with a shift to the right in the AfD.” He defended the headline-grabbing meeting of some AfD politicians with right-wing extremists in Potsdam, which was “neither secret nor a problem in terms of content”. In this context, the lawyer complains about the “fairy tale of deportation”.
According to his own statements, Seitz was a “loyal and uncritical regular voter” for a long time CDU“, later he made his cross at the FDPthen with the civil rights party “Die Freiheit” before he “sent in my membership application for the AfD before the founding party conference at the beginning of April 2013”.
But now he has broken with the party. “A party that only represents the lesser evil is therefore always part of the problem and can never be part of the solution,” complains Seitz: “If the AfD only represents the lesser evil, then there is no need for the AfD.”
Seitz wants to stay in the Bundestag: “We have lost faith that the AfD will make a contribution to saving Germany”
The father of two, who lost his civil service status as a public prosecutor due to several misconducts, also admits: “If my old life hadn’t burned down, I would have left politics in 2020 or 2021.” So the doubts had been growing in him for a long time, but that was the last straw The day in Rottweil was the last straw: “Since the special party conference of the AfD Baden-Württemberg on the last weekend in February, however, I have lost faith that the AfD is in a position to make any substantial contribution to saving Germany.”
With his departure, the AfD parliamentary group still has 77 members. It started after the 2021 federal election with 82 elected officials. Several politicians have for different reasons have now left the group. Seitz emphasized that he would continue to fulfill his mandate as a non-attached MP.
He is not seeking “any other party membership”. His professional future is also uncertain; he is not allowed to work as a lawyer until 2029. (mg, dpa)