Escalating party dilemma - The top leaders of the AfD are currently extremely worried due to this.
There have been claims that the top two candidates for the AfD (Alternative for Germany) in the upcoming elections on June 9th were bribed by Moscow. Additionally, one of their employees is currently being held and accused of spying for China. To add to the party's issues, they're dealing with the SS controversy surrounding Maximilian Krah (47), which has led to the AfD's decline in popularity in the European Parliament.
Despite these setbacks, the party is attempting to stay optimistic. With a polling rate of less than 20%, they're still better off than they were five years ago when they only managed to achieve 11%. However, there's growing discontent among party members towards the leadership duo of Alice Weidel (40) and Tino Chrupalla (49).
Weidel, a Ph.D. economist from Gütersloh (North Rhine-Westphalia), has ties to the business world (through her connections with entrepreneur Theo Müller), experience abroad (in China), and foreign language skills, making her a suitable figurehead for the party. She never wanted Maximilian Krah as a top candidate but reluctantly supported him out of necessity.
Chrupalla, a master painter from Niederlausitz (Saxony), is well-liked among tradespeople, ordinary people, and all factions within the party. He's also crucial in keeping the strong right-wing state associations in the east in line. He's considered the 'foster son' of Alexander Gauland (83), who's protected Chrupalla and positioned him as his successor. He's not just a popular figure but also known to get aggressive if necessary, as evidenced by his behavior on the federal executive board.
The relationship between Weidel and Chrupalla is crucial, as they're closely tied to each other. If one falls, the other will follow. However, no viable alternative has emerged yet, even if the European Parliament elections don't go well. The primary focus is to stay calm and monitor whether the group around Thuringian far-right leader Björn Höcke continues to disintegrate or a new center of power forms.
The biggest challenge for Weidel and Chrupalla is their international image. In the European Parliament, the nine AfD MEPs have been expelled from the ID group. If they don't find a way to connect with another group (which is challenging), they'll lose out on speaking time, money, and influence.
The AfD's previous group partners in the EU Parliament, Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement Nationale, have now been labeled by former Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld as a party that's "gradually entered the circle of republican parties." However, Klarsfeld still considers the AfD to be a "dangerous party." His wife, Beate, who publicly assaulted the then-Chancellor in 1968 due to his Nazi past, believes, "The AfD must be fought; it's anti-European and anti-Semitic."
Without a connection to the center, the AfD will never gain approval beyond its regular supporters. This makes it more difficult to win elections in Germany and then govern.
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Source: symclub.org
