AfD party conference votes down exec’s proposal on asylum, adopts more radical resolution

AfD party conference votes down exec's proposal on asylum, adopts more radical resolution 1

Following the meeting in July that led to a split of the party, the AfD is holding another party conference this weekend. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports that the assembly has just voted down a position paper on asylum drafted by the national exec and backed by the new leader. Internally, the paper was seen as…

German AfD politician: Immigrants could be shot at border if necessary

Markus Pretzell, UKIP Fan, AfD supremo in NRW and newly minted sweetheart of the newly minted party leader, has a bright idea. In a public speech last week, he suggested to deter refugees at the German border by all means necessary, including the use of firearms. He has now repeated that statement in an interview…

The Great German Right-Wing Carnival

In Dresden, the style of political conflict has plunged to a new low yesterday night when Pegida marchers carried gallows “reserved for Merkel and [vice chancellor and SPD leader] Gabriel” – a classic extreme right prop that nicely complements the usual rallying cries of “lying press” and “traitors of the people”. At first I was…

Merkel’s got 99 problems, but a trial ain’t one

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="500"] Photo by Metropolico.org [/caption] Yesterday, the AfD has filed legal complaints against the chancellor with the public prosecutor, arguing that suspending the Dublin agreement violates the section of the penal code which bans human trafficking. As political PR stunts go, this is not a bad one: It cost the party exactly…

In Thuringia, the AfD and the Extreme Right get cosy

One major asset of the pre-Petry AfD was its disconnect from the Extreme Right. But the AfD in Thuringia has always been a funny bunch, and Lucke tried (without success) to remove its leader Björn Höcke from the party. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="500"] Photo by Tekniska museet [/caption] With Lucke gone and asylum applications at…

My APSA 2015 Paper: “The AfD’s Facebook Wall as a Hub for Right-Wing Mobilisation in Germany”

Social media plays a crucial role for the AfD’s mobilisation strategy, with a reach that goes far beyond the party faithful: The AfD’s Facebook wall has become one of the largest right-wing forums on the German-speaking internet. While a ban on overt extremism is enforced by the party, the wall a platform for homophobes, immigration sceptics, Christian fundamentalists, Prussian nostalgics, anti-feminists, Islam critics, and just about everyone who opposes diversity and the policies that support it. This exploratory paper looks at the role this page is playing not just for the AfD but more generally for the dynamics of the wider, highly diverse right-wing subculture in Germany.

The Assets of Lucke’s New Alfa Party

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="500"] Photo by Athos fotografias [/caption] A mere two weeks after being sacked as the AfD’s supreme leader, Bernd Lucke is back as presumably undisputed chair of the new “Alfa” (Allianz für Fortschritt und Aufbruch ~ Alliance for Progress and a New Beginning) party. Apparently, he already envisions a resounding success in…