Great chaos at the AfD BW party conference in Rottweil

After much chaos at the AfD party conference in Rottweil, the two state chairmen Markus Frohnmaier and Emil Sanzen were confirmed in office. On Saturday evening, 75.7 percent of members voted for Bundestag member Frohnmaier and 24.3 percent voted against him.

The state parliament member Sanzen received 76.46 percent of the votes, 23.54 percent rejected him. Between 800 and 900 members took part in the elections. In the end, no opposing candidate wanted to run against either Frohnmaier or Sätze. The deputy chairmen were the parliamentarians Martin Hess, Ruben Rupp, Marc Bernhard and Jürgen Kögel.

Dispute at the AfD party conference on an open stage

The Baden-Württemberg AfD had previously fought an hour-long argument in Rottweil over the holding of its party conference. Board members argued in the open on Saturday and turned off each other’s microphones.

Opposing camps shouted and booed. It was only in the afternoon that a meeting leader was elected for the event, which was actually supposed to start at 10 a.m.

Astrid Meisoll from the SWR state politics editorial team classifies the state party conference on site:

Number of participants unclear in advance

Reason for the dispute: The special party conference could not start as planned due to overcrowding in the town hall. The hall has 1,040 seats, but significantly more members and guests arrived on Saturday morning.

The AfD does not hold delegate conferences in Baden-Württemberg, but rather member party conferences – and it is always completely unclear how many arrive and which camps they belong to. The board argued about how to proceed and whether the party conference could even be held. The atmosphere was very heated.

The hall was cleared – entry was only for those entitled to vote

The co-state chairman Markus Frohnmaier asked everyone present to leave the hall – the town hall was then evacuated. Afterwards, only those eligible to vote were allowed back into the hall. Guests had to stay outside. In the afternoon, additional members were accredited to fill remaining vacant places.

The hall was searched for voting machines by security guards during the evacuation, as a rumor was circulating that individual members had had several voting machines given to them. By issuing white cards, the party leadership counted the exact number of voters again.

Weidel appeals: “Get into calmer waters”.

At the party conference in Rottweil, it will be discussed how things should continue at the top of the AfD in the country. A power struggle has been raging within the party for months. “We cannot afford to prolong a conflict in this regional association and that is why we need a decision here today,” said the AfD co-chairwoman in the federal government, Alice Weidel, before the board elections.

After the chaotic start, she was the first speaker at the party conference. “We want to work together to ensure that this regional association finds itself in calm waters so that it is prepared for the local elections and the European elections,” said Weidel. The party conference took several hours to set the agenda. It was then voted to re-elect a dual leadership.

Special party conference due to dissatisfaction with the chairman

The board of the state party is considered very divided. Seven of the previous board members are dissatisfied with the co-chairmen Markus Frohnmaier and Emil Sätze. 22 of the 37 district associations had called for the special party conference to be held in order to resolve the blockade situation. With the confirmation of the leadership duo, Alice Weidel’s camp was able to prevail. A majority for the Weidel camp had already emerged throughout the day. Frohnmaier and Sanzen both called for unity.

Rottweil

Party conference in Rottweil
The AfD in BW elects a new state executive board – will there be a test of strength?

The state AfD elects a new board early in Rottweil. Recently, dissatisfaction with the current board had grown. A power struggle has apparently been raging for some time.

Demonstration against right-wing extremism in front of the hall

Long before the party conference was scheduled to begin, many people had gathered at the hall on Saturday morning for a demonstration against right-wing extremism. According to the police, there were around 1,300 participants on site, the organizers spoke of 2,000.

The alliance “Rottweil remains colorful and diverse” called for this. In order to avoid clashes, the police are on site with a large number of forces. The demonstration has now ended.