The quarrels in the Thuringian district of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt continue. After the AfD initiated exclusion proceedings against several members, they defended themselves and wanted to have top candidate Björn Höcke thrown out of the party.
The simmering dispute over competing AfD electoral lists for the local elections in the southeast Thuringian district of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt is heating up. Because the AfD state executive wants to exclude nine party members, they are now planning to turn the tables.
They want to have the top candidate for the state elections, Björn Höcke, thrown out of the party. “We are calling for his resignation and are preparing something,” says the AfD’s mayoral candidate in Rudolstadt, Jörg Gasda, to “Bild”.
Previously, a party spokesman had confirmed on Sunday that exclusion proceedings had been initiated against several members, thus confirming a report by the magazine “Stern”.
“Those affected deliberately disregarded or thwarted party committee decisions,” he explained. They “submitted a list of candidates in the name of the party without authorization or made it possible for this list to be submitted.” This “blatantly violates the party’s statutes and regulations and has caused serious damage to the party,” said the spokesman. A request for party exclusion is the “logical, necessary” consequence.
Local politicians are now resisting this. “Höcke’s behavior suits a narcissist, but has nothing to do with democratic customs,” said AfD candidate Josef Kluy, who is running for the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district council, to “Bild”. “It’s not us who have to be thrown out of the party – if so, it’s him.”
The dispute was triggered by two competing AfD electoral lists in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district in Thuringia. One centered around state parliament member Karlheinz Frosch bears the official name of the AfD, but is not supported by the AfD state association.
There are 15 candidates on the list, which the regional association felt was not enough. He wanted to cancel the list and have a new election. Frosch, who is also the senior president of the state parliament, defended himself legally. Other AfD members in the southeast Thuringian district put together a new list under the name “Alternative for the District” and collected enough signatures for admission to the district council election.
Höcke is also promoting this list – and the AfD local politicians now want to use it. Höcke violated the AfD statute by promoting other lists. they complain. “They are lies. This is election fraud,” says mayoral candidate Gasda, who wants to exclude Höke from the party.
He is angry. “Our district is a blue stronghold. And then Höcke tries to destroy our development work shortly before the election, even though we are the winners of the election for the list.” There is a method in the behavior of the Thuringian state leader, he complains.
“So far, everyone he didn’t want had to leave at some point and suddenly disappeared from the political stage. What Höcke is doing is sick.” The AfD politician, who was recently fined for using an SA slogan, mainly gathers yes-men around him, Gasda continues to complain. “These are people who stand at the gas station with beer in the morning.”
The Thuringian AfD regional association under its frontman Höcke is observed by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution as definitely right-wing extremist. On May 26th, most of the district administrators, mayors and full-time mayors will be re-elected in Thuringia, in addition to the district councils and the city and municipal councils.