Bremen election: who are the “citizens in anger”?

Outside of Bremen’s state borders, the voters’ association “Bürger in Wut” has rarely been heard of. They have been a fixture on the right-wing political spectrum in the smallest federal state for years.

The “Bürger in Wut” (BiW) have been a fixture on the right-wing political spectrum in the state of Bremen for years. The voters’ association, founded in 2004, places itself between the CDU and AfD. According to the Federal Agency for Civic Education, she represents right-wing populist and economically liberal positions.

The founder was ex-Federal policeman Jan Timke (52) from Bremerhaven. In the smaller and poorer city of the two-city state, the potential of protest voters has always been higher than in Bremen. The state association of the BIW has 115 members according to its own information.

The former federal police officer Timke has been a member of the Bremen parliament since 2008 thanks to the right to vote in the smallest federal state: It was enough that the BIW only achieved more than five percent of the votes in Bremerhaven. With its foreseeable election success on Sunday, the group is growing for the first time to the size of a faction.

From the AfD to the BIW

According to election researchers, the party benefited from the fact that the AfD blocked participation in the elections due to internal disputes. The BIW distances itself from the extremism of the AfD. “‘Citizens in Anger’ is a middle-class conservative voters’ association,” says Timke. Bremen’s top candidate Piet Leidreiter speaks of “conservative and liberal”.

In the past, AfD members have repeatedly switched to the BIW. Bremen’s top candidate Leidreiter is also a former AfD politician and was even federal treasurer until 2015. However, he recently told Radio Bremen that the ethnically nationalist so-called wing of the AfD, which has since been officially dissolved, is “a no go” for him.

However, the media also found a candidate on the list who had taken part in clearly right-wing extremist marches. Heiko Werner ran for 18th place on the list in the general election. The party expelled him.

In terms of content, the focus of BIW is on fighting crime and internal security, often linked to the question of immigration. “Consistently deport stabbers” was an election slogan.

The small party Bündnis Deutschland supported the BIW financially in the election campaign. Later, both forces want to merge. The BIW could thus “expand the political sphere of activity for our members beyond the borders of the state of Bremen,” says Timke. Leidreiter hopes that the cooperation will eventually lead to government responsibility.