AfD imposes strict new travel rules amid internal crisis over Russia ties

The AfD is now grappling with a Russia crisis. The relationships of AfD members of parliament with Russia and their visits abroad, especially to Russia, will lead to the party leadership implementing stricter controls.

Tension erupted at the end of an AfD parliamentary group executive board meeting when party co-leader Alice Weidel invited Susanne Fürst, a foreign policy expert from the sister party, the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), to the podium.

During the executive board meeting, members were particularly interested in the FPÖ’s stance on “travel to Russia.” Fürst explained that no FPÖ member of parliament has traveled to the country since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

According to a report in tagesschau, this statement surprised some members of the executive board. Not everyone is convinced that this approach would be feasible in the AfD, and a planned visit to Sochi by two members of the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) has further complicated matters.

Rainer Rothfuß, a Bavarian member of parliament representing the Oberallgäu constituency, appears to have drawn the ire of the party leadership for this reason.

Due to its dissatisfaction with Rothfuß’s behavior, the AfD leadership discussed at the meeting whether to cancel all his future trips abroad.

The parliamentary group even discussed Rothfuß’s expulsion. The AfD deputy had submitted a travel request to the parliamentary group’s foreign affairs working group, which was approved. However, what he failed to inform the party was that he also intended to meet with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

In a press statement, Alice Weidel criticized the foreign affairs working group in unusually blunt terms. According to Weidel, the travel request should have been examined in more detail beforehand.

“Frankly, I cannot understand the purpose of this. I would not have done it this way, but the decision was made by the Foreign Affairs Working Group. Mr. Rothfuß will remain here,” the AfD leader added.

Tagesschau noted that very few people have been publicly reprimanded in this manner by the party leadership recently. What makes this particularly significant is that the criticism was directed at the foreign policy spokesperson and, in fact, one of Weidel’s closest confidants, Markus Frohnmaier.

According to the report, Weidel has recently seemed somewhat annoyed by Frohnmaier’s growing desire for recognition, especially his social media activities during a trip to the US; she did not find these and other MPs’ appearances to be professional.

On the other hand, Weidel’s office, in a statement sent to tagesschau following the report, said, “Markus Frohnmaier manages the foreign affairs working group impeccably. I greatly appreciate his efforts to maintain a balanced approach, and I have no doubt that he will continue the professionalization of the working group in the future.”

What is more decisive, however, is that the AfD is facing intense pressure from the CDU/CSU. Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently identified the AfD as his main rival, and since then, leading CDU/CSU politicians have been particularly critical of its relations with Russia.

Last Thursday, the CDU/CSU and SPD even held a debate on this topic. The title of the debate was: “The impact of the AfD’s relations with Russia on Germany’s security interests – Not patriotism, but a potential threat to our security.”

The trips made by AfD members of parliament were also criticized during the debate.

All other parliamentary groups have repeatedly accused the AfD of allowing itself to be used as a “Trojan horse” for the Kremlin’s interests and of posing a real threat to democracy.

Another factor is that the debate about the party’s foreign policy orientation is in full swing. The AfD is generally seen as close to the Kremlin, and its MPs have repeatedly made headlines for their close ties to Russia.

However, Alice Weidel appears to be trying to change the party’s course. Following incidents in NATO airspace, the AfD leader openly criticized Russia and called for de-escalation, stating that “Trump’s patience should not be tested.”

It seems Weidel wants to distance her party somewhat from Russia and Putin. But the foreign policy working group handled the matter differently and opposed Weidel, unanimously approving Rainer Rothfuß’s planned trip.

In the future, the parliamentary group leadership plans to handle approvals differently. According to a draft from the parliamentary group’s executive committee obtained by ARD, trips by members or staff of the parliamentary group to “politically risky countries” or for meetings with “particularly risky individuals” will require prior approval from the parliamentary group’s executive committee.

Currently, the working groups and their leaders are responsible for this. The parliamentary group’s executive committee wants to be able to intervene at an earlier stage. This refers to countries where sanction regulations are in place, such as Russia, or where there is a “reputational risk.”

In the future, travel requests will be submitted at least ten working days before departure. The reason and purpose of the trip, as well as a list of individuals to be met, must be included, and the source of funding for the trip must also be specified.

Trips made without the approval of the executive board are considered “not supported by the parliamentary group” and are therefore not recognized as official AfD trips. If MPs violate this rule, there could be other consequences.

The current trip to Sochi will proceed in any case, even without Rainer Rothfuß. Among others, MP Steffen Kotré will also be traveling to Russia in the coming days.

The parliamentary group leadership has given him several rules to follow: no social media activity, no photos with Russian politicians, and no interviews with Russian television channels.

The AfD’s internal travel memorandum, obtained by ARD, lists the planned travel destinations of Bundestag members. These include trips to Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, and repeatedly to the US, as well as two trips to Russia, specifically to Sochi.

On November 13-16 and November 17, Bundestag members Steffen Kotré and Rainer Rothfuß will attend the “International Symposium in the BRICS-Europe format.” Rothfuß is also scheduled to give a lecture here.

According to the internal document, budgets of €4,050 and €2,000 have been allocated for the travel, with these costs to be covered by the parliamentary group.