The federal party conference of the AfD has elected Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel as new party leaders. Incumbent Chrupalla from the far right AfD camp prevailed on Saturday in Riesa, Saxony, despite harsh criticism of his leadership style in a runoff against competitor Norbert Kleinwaechter. The 36-year-old was the leading representative of the camp, which was moderate by AfD standards, to replace Chrupalla. However, he had only been given outsider chances in advance. The result was close. Chrupalla received 53 percent of the votes and Kleinwächter 36 percent.
However, Chrupalla will not be able to lead the AfD alone for the next two years after another decision by the 538 party congress delegates. The party conference placed the 47-year-old as co-boss Alice Weidel, 43, who is also assigned to the right-wing camp. In a vote, she clearly prevailed against the 59-year-old MEP Nicolaus Fest. Weidel and Chrupalla already jointly lead the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag.
The election was preceded by a violent exchange of blows between the candidates and their camps. Kleinwächter had sharply criticized the course and the state of the party in his application speech. “We don’t have time for the fermenting bunch anymore,” Kleinwächter said about the ongoing dispute between the two camps. “We need discipline and professionalism.” Chrupalla dismissed the attacks in his speech. “I’m the federal spokesman for the base. If I’m attacked, it’s because the base should be silenced,” Chrupalla said. “I won’t allow that.” The AfD will not participate in compulsory vaccination, war and open borders.
Chrupalla and Weidel’s victory is seen as a sign of a power shift within the AfD. For months, the far right and the camp, which is moderate by AfD standards, have been fighting fiercely. Both sides had announced in advance that they would finally take over power in the previously divided 14-member board.
Höcke wants to replace the top in two years
For the self-proclaimed middle class in the AfD, hard times are likely to dawn under a new party leadership. Another shift to the right by the party is considered likely. Because for the first time at its head, it gives up the carefully balanced balance within the dual leadership, which should represent both currents in the leadership duo. In addition, the first elections for other party posts indicate that the far right camp can dominate bodies such as the party’s federal arbitration court in the future, which plays an important role in expulsion proceedings against extremists, for example.
Meanwhile, right winger Björn Höcke is warming up in the background in order to start his own push to the top of the party in two years’ time. The Thuringian head of state, whose association the Thuringian protection of the constitution classifies as a “proven right-wing extremist observation object”, launched an initiative at the party conference to be able to exchange the dual leadership for a single leader at the next board election in two years. The delegates approved a corresponding motion by 70 percent. The party considers it likely that Höcke could then claim this position himself.