Party Congress in Magdeburg
“Orderly dissolution of the EU?” AfD advises program for the European elections
The AfD federal chairwoman Alice Weidel on her way to the party conference in Magdeburg
© Sebastian Willnow / DPA
For four days, the AfD was looking for candidates for next year’s European elections in a lengthy process. At the end of their election party conference in Magdeburg, it should be about content.
After completing their candidate selection for the 2024 European elections, the AfD discussed their election program in Magdeburg today. Up for debate is a draft that calls for the “orderly dissolution of the EU” and an end to the euro. Some delegates at the European election assembly also called for a German exit from the European Union, the so-called Dexit. A compromise is being sought, as party leader Tino Chrupalla told the German Press Agency.
“All in all, of course, we want to get the wording that we want this EU to restart,” said Chrupalla. The AfD called for reforms five years ago. However, nothing happened. “If that’s not possible, it must be possible for the nation state to say: enough is enough.”
Experts: Return to the D-Mark would trigger a crisis
From the point of view of the AfD, “a federation of European nations” should take the place of the EU. Free trade, a customs union and a European security architecture are still desired. “It’s not like we’re asking for an exit and then nothing happens,” emphasized Chrupalla.
For a long time, the AfD has been calling for Germany to abandon the euro and return to the Deutschmark. According to experts, this would trigger an economic, financial and banking crisis for Germany and the other countries in the currency union. A German exit from the EU would possibly end the community in its current form. According to surveys, a large majority in Germany is against it. It is unclear what an “orderly dissolution” of the EU could look like.
AfD doubts man-made climate change
In the draft of its election program, the AfD also opposes climate protection measures and speaks of “climate hysteria”. Chrupalla said the man-made contribution to climate change is “so small that it doesn’t matter”. And he added: “1.5 degrees warming of the earth? Nothing will happen if the earth is 1.5 degrees warmer. These are also all things that are worked with hysteria. When talking about the melting of the poles: The North Pole, we see, is in good shape.”
Last weekend and then this Friday and Saturday, the AfD determined its candidates for the European elections next year in a very lengthy process. In the face of high poll numbers, she expanded her list to 35 spots, which were filled after hours of introductions and voting. The final result of the runoff for 35th place was announced yesterday after a 14-hour session. In the rounds of introductions, both the dissolution of the EU and Dexit found support.
The party, classified by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a suspected right-wing extremist, began nominating candidates last weekend. The top candidate was MEP Maximilian Krah, who is also not without controversy internally.
At the same time, the AfD has to cope with a setback in the election polls for the first time in months. In the “Sunday trend” of the opinion research institute Insa on behalf of “Bild am Sonntag”, the party comes to 21 percent – one point less than in the previous week. This is said to be the first drop for the AfD in the weekly poll since March 25.
The Union, on the other hand, gains a point and is at 27 percent. The SPD also increases by one point to 19 percent. The Greens remain at 14 percent, the FDP at 7 percent and the left at 5 percent. The Insa Institute gives a statistical error tolerance of 2.9 percentage points for its latest survey.