After Meuthen’s withdrawal: the new old problems of the AfD

After the Meuthen withdrawal, party and faction leader Chrupalla sees himself as the new strong man of the AfD. But the task might be too big for him. And the jubilation of the ex-“wing” is premature.

The member of parliament from Saxony-Anhalt, Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, gives a fairly blunt insight into the current emotional world of the right-wing extremists in the AfD: Jörg Meuthen’s resignation from the party is not a loss, but a gain. “Here there is nothing to regret and nothing to thank for,” says Tillschneider, who is assigned to the officially dissolved “wing” and is being observed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

Other opponents of Meuthens within the party may still appear as “quiet bon vivants” and hold back with malice. But it is obvious that the party right, which is particularly strong in the East German state associations, has won an important victory in the power struggle for the AfD soul.

A party insider warns that all those who were close to Meuthen on the federal executive board would now have a problem. And the political scientist Wolfgang Schröder from the University of Kassel also speaks to him in an interview ARD Capital Studio that Meuthen first made the right in the AfD acceptable and then capitulated to them. Schröder is therefore also convinced “that the revaluation of those who were part of the former ‘wing’ will continue”.

Meuthen caught the party cold

Despite the “wing” exultation: ex-boss Meuthen caught his party cold at a moment when it was already feeling a lot of wind from the front: Despite the anger of opponents of vaccination and corona measures, it can with them so far have not scored decisive points. In the forthcoming state elections in four western German states, there is a risk of losses rather than gains, and then the Damocles sword of observation by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution will always hover over the party as a whole. It can be assumed that the Meuthen statements – he sees “clearly totalitarian echoes” in parts of the AfD – will be included in the assessment.

From the point of view of many observers, it could also become a problem that the AfD is now basically “without sheep’s clothing” after the Meuthen withdrawal. After initially making deals with the right-wing extremist, the economist tried to see his party as a potential coalition partner for the Union: “No one has played down this party’s self-playing down in public space as precisely and impressively as he has,” says political scientist Schröder. In this respect, the Meuthen departure is a turning point.

Meuthen announces “something new”.

Meuthen himself keeps himself in the conversation. He wanted to remain politically active, he told the magazine “Cicero” and announced “something new”. It is about “filling the gap between a CDU that has slipped to the left and an AfD that has slipped to the right”.

The former party leaders Bernd Lucke and Frauke Petry also founded new parties after they left the AfD – Petry the party “Die Blauen”, Lucke the “Liberal-Conservative Reformers”. Both start-ups failed due to a lack of support among voters.

Who will succeed?

In the AfD, the Meuthen camp, which describes itself as moderate, is facing a problem with the departure of its frontman – also in terms of personnel. Because it seems indisputable that the dual leadership of the party must be filled by a person from the West German state associations. On the other hand, the fact that the most popular face of the ex-“wing”, Thuringia’s AfD head of state Björn Höcke, could reach for the post is considered unlikely within the party. The “march-through” of the right wing would then be too obvious. The fear could tear the AfD apart.

Because the party leader Tino Chrupalla, who was initially the sole party leader after the Meuthen withdrawal, is considered an advocate of the Eastern associations and thus of the ex-“wing”.

Chrupalla – the new strong man?

In any case, the master painter from Saxony has now reinforced his claim to leadership: If one chairman is weak, another is ready, Chrupalla said ZDF– Interview know. And of course he meant himself when he said “stand by”. He would now “bring the party together” and “hold it together”. As faction and party leader in a personal union, the Meuthen opponent now appears as the new strong man of the AfD.

Others point out that behind the scenes, there are actually others pulling the strings. And Chrupalla is faced with an almost insurmountable triple task: satisfying party rights, not completely frightening the Meuthen camp and counteracting the public impression that the party is now drifting completely to the extreme right. That’s quite a lot all at once.