Party congress in Riesa: Höcke’s unparalleled demonstration of power

The AfD party conference in Riesa ended abruptly – but it finally became clear who was in charge in the party: the right wingers around their best-known representative Björn Höcke.

The word “departure” was one of the words most used by the new AfD leadership at this party congress. Yes, this is a departure – into an even more extreme future.

And the most prominent head of the right-wing party no longer bothers to hide it: Björn Höcke, AfD state head in Thuringia, classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as clearly right-wing extremist. The number of applications he penned was only exceeded by the number of his appearances at the microphone in the hall. An unparalleled demonstration of power.

“We are the dissident party”

And just how sure Höcke is of his cause now was demonstrated by a single, revealing sentence, which was greeted with thunderous applause: “We decide for ourselves who is an extremist.” Höcke’s message: the party should no longer have red lines, and the protection of the constitution should no longer be a concern. “We are the dissident party,” Höcke hammered into the delegates’ minds, in case everyone still didn’t get it.

The newly elected party leadership duo Alice Weidel/Tino Chrupalla, on the other hand, set off on their journey home from Riesa less than 24 hours after the enthronement: in the tried and tested manner of self-mutilation and despite all efforts by Weidel and Chrupalla to stop it, the party argued for more than two hours about the Höcke co-formulated motion for the “dissolution of the EU” – until the paper was finally referred to the federal executive board for further deliberation.

Shortly thereafter, the delegates – worn down by the never-ending argument and heat – decided to end the party congress prematurely. This is by no means a “breakup”, explained Chrupalla afterwards. However, there could no longer be any talk of the so much invoked “departure”.

Extreme course clearly defined

One thing had already become sufficiently clear beforehand: that the AfD Höcke is ready to follow its extreme course. What she proved by agreeing to a supposedly inconspicuous application – of course supported by Höcke: The AfD has removed the right-wing association called “Gewerkschaft Zentrum” from its incompatibility list. An organization that was founded by the former guitarist of a neo-Nazi band and apparently has no problem holding joint events with the NPD or the right-wing extremist small party “Der III. Weg”. Warnings from the newly elected Federal Executive that this would give the Office for the Protection of the Constitution a through ball were wiped off the table by the party congress.

In this respect, there is no longer any doubt: Riesa will go down in AfD history as the “Party Congress of Falling Masks”. While at earlier meetings – in Dresden, in Kalkar – the two wings of the party, who like to tear each other apart, threw about the same amount on the scales, the camp that describes itself as “moderate” has now been pulverized. Only the Brandenburg member of parliament Norbert Kleinwächter had dared to challenge the old and new party leader Chrupalla, but he had clearly failed.

Expect no resistance

Not a single head of this less radical movement is represented in the new national executive committee. Höcke can smile to himself contentedly: None of the fourteen should seriously make life difficult for him and his nationalist supporters, not even the already weakened leadership duo Weidel/Chrupalla.

And at least he has already prepared the ground for taking over the AfD chairmanship himself in two years – with the decision he pushed forward that the AfD can also be led by a single leader in the future. The AfD’s “departure” towards the far right seems unstoppable.