There is unrest within the Thuringian AfD party as some local politicians are calling for the expulsion of party chairman Björn Höcke. This comes shortly before the local elections on May 26th, with some members upset over Höcke’s support of an alternative list for the election and his plans to remove AfD candidates from the party. The situation has escalated into a power struggle within the Thuringian branch of the AfD, with members submitting requests for Höcke’s expulsion.
Thuringian AfD local politicians are demanding the expulsion of party leader Björn Höcke due to his support of an alternative election list and his plans to remove AfD candidates from the party. Some members are preparing for this move, with the AfD mayoral candidate for Rudolstadt, Jörg Gasda, stating that those who do not align with Höcke’s views have had to leave the party in the past. Another candidate, Josef Kluy, criticized Höcke’s behavior as narcissistic and undemocratic, calling for Höcke to be the one to leave the party instead.
As the local elections in Thuringia approach on May 26th, the outcome for the AfD is highly anticipated. The push to exclude Höcke from the AfD intensifies the power struggle within the Thuringian branch of the party. Recently, in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district, some AfD members formed the voter association “Alternative for the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district” (AfL), with nine AfD politicians running on the AfL list against the official AfD list. The state AfD and Björn Höcke are supporting the AfL, creating competition within the party.
AfD members involved in the AfL list have been accused of severely violating party regulations and causing significant harm to the party. A 96-page document sent to the party’s state arbitration court describes these violations as a “conspiracy” against the party’s democratic decisions. Consequently, a party expulsion process has been initiated against the nine members of the AfL list. Among those facing expulsion is Jörg Gasda, who has been accused of election fraud in relation to the candidate list for the official AfD. Gasda is said to have filled out ballot papers for another party member, as reported by the MDR.
Höcke, known as a prominent figure in the far-right faction of the party, has recently been fined 13,000 euros for using a prohibited SA slogan in a speech. His defense has filed for a revision of the verdict, confirming the spokesperson for the Halle Regional Court. Höcke was convicted for knowingly using a forbidden slogan of the Sturmabteilung (SA) of the NSDAP in a speech, triggering legal consequences. As the situation continues to escalate within the Thuringian AfD, the outcome of the upcoming local elections remains uncertain.
