How closely is the AfD connected to the initiators of the “Düsseldorf Forum”? New research should uncover further connections.
The connections between members of the AfD and the initiators of the “Düsseldorf Forum” in Potsdam are apparently closer than expected. This emerges from research by NDR, WDR and Süddeutscher Zeitung. Accordingly, Arne Friedrich Mörig, son of the organizer Gernot Mörig, is said to have been paid from the budget of the AfD federal executive board in the past.
Arne Friedrich Mörig is said to have given a lecture about a right-wing influencer agency at the meeting in Potsdam. The 31-year-old is said to have then presented corresponding ideas to the AfD’s federal executive board. He is also said to have taken care of social media for the party. He is said to have been fired after the meeting became known. The AfD’s federal executive board left questions about the personnel unanswered.
Large demonstrations all over Germany
In addition, donations for the “Düsseldorf Forum” are said to have gone through the account of AfD politician Thomas Grebien. Grebien is Gernot Mörig’s brother-in-law. Accordingly, the account for the donations should have been made available by 2021 at the latest. Grebien is active on the district executive committee of the AfD in the town of Plön in Schleswig-Holstein.
According to a report by the media company Correctiv, some AfD politicians as well as individual members of the CDU and the very conservative Values Union took part in the network meeting in Potsdam a few weeks ago. According to participants, it was about the concept of so-called remigration. When right-wing extremists use the term, they usually mean that large numbers of people of foreign origin should leave the country – even under duress. After the Potsdam meeting became known, hundreds of thousands of people across Germany came together to demonstrate against the AfD and right-wing extremism.
According to the report, Mörig and Grebien did not comment on the research. When asked, the chairman of the Plön district association replied that he was not aware of Grebien’s activities.