Ahead of the federal elections in Germany on 23 February, political parties are announcing their election programmes and chancellor candidates. Delegates of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) gathered in Riesa, Saxony, to discuss the party\u2019s election platform.<\/p>\n
The conference began two hours late due to protests by AfD opponents outside the venue. Discussions on the election programme and the party\u2019s youth organisation, the Young Alternative (JA), revealed internal tensions. For instance, the \u2018hardliners\u2019 opposed changes to the anti-abortion stance, which the more moderate wing feared would alienate mainstream voters. Similar disagreements arose over climate change (favoring abandoning international agreements) and military service (supporting conscription reinstatement).<\/p>\n
Youth organisation JA dissolved, new organisation formed<\/strong><\/p>\n The most contentious debate centered on reforming the JA, previously labeled \u2018right-wing extremist\u2019 by German authorities. The reform narrowly passed with 71% of delegates voting in favor, just above the required 66% majority. The JA will be dissolved and replaced by a new youth organisation, the Young Patriots (JP). Unlike the JA, which operated as an independent registered association, the JP will be an official subunit of the AfD.<\/p>\n New terms on family and migration in the programme<\/strong><\/p>\n The AfD\u2019s election programme focused heavily on tightening immigration policies. The controversial term \u2018re-immigration\u2019 was added to the final draft after a party conference amendment. The programme also included a new statement: \u201cThe family, consisting of mother, father, and children, is the nucleus of society.\u201d This addition sparked debate, particularly from Hamburg delegate Krzysztof Walczak, who noted that Chancellor candidate Alice Weidel, a homosexual woman raising children with her partner, represents a different family model.<\/p>\n The AfD\u2019s platform also advocates for conscription reinstatement, a return to nuclear energy, lifting sanctions against Russia, improved relations with China and the USA, lower income taxes, a headscarf ban, and abolishing the citizenship allowance (B\u00fcrgergeld<\/em>).<\/p>\n Tough talk from Weidel: Reverse migration and the fight against wind turbines<\/strong><\/p>\n Co-Chairwoman Alice Weidel, unanimously chosen as the AfD\u2019s chancellor candidate, delivered a fiery acceptance speech. She declared war on \u201cwindmills of shame,\u201d referring to Germany\u2019s wind turbines, and pledged \u201clarge-scale repatriation\u201d of refugees under an AfD government. Weidel\u2019s use of the term \u201creverse migration\u201d (Remigration<\/em>) drew applause from delegates, though it was seen by some as a concession to Bj\u00f6rn H\u00f6cke, a prominent figure in the party\u2019s radical wing.<\/p>\n Reverse migration a concession to H\u00f6cke?<\/strong><\/p>\n Weidel\u2019s use of \u201creverse migration\u201d was interpreted as a nod to H\u00f6cke, who led the AfD to a historic victory in Thuringia\u2019s regional elections. Bundestag member Kay Gottschalk described the term as a concession to H\u00f6cke, stating, \u201cI would have phrased it differently, but that\u2019s what the delegates want.\u201d The AfD defines \u201creverse migration\u201d as the permanent deportation of individuals who have left their home countries, including refugees, criminals, and those involved in foreign conflicts on German soil.<\/p>\n In her speech, Weidel also called for restarting the Nord Stream gas pipeline, restoring nuclear power, and abolishing gender studies programmes.<\/p>\n AfD shifts focus from Greens to CDU<\/strong><\/p>\n Notably, Weidel\u2019s speech and the party conference largely ignored the Greens, previously a primary target. Instead, the AfD focused its attacks on the CDU and its leader, Friedrich Merz. The AfD accused the CDU of copying its proposals, such as turning back asylum seekers at borders.<\/p>\n AfD co-chairman Tino Chrupalla praised Weidel\u2019s speech as a strong start to the election campaign, describing it as \u201cfiery\u201d and well-received by supporters. Regarding her criticism of wind turbines, Chrupalla clarified that Weidel was referring to turbines causing environmental degradation, particularly those built in forests. He emphasized that local communities should have a say in such projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ahead of the federal elections in Germany on 23 February, political parties are announcing their election programmes and chancellor candidates. Delegates of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) gathered in Riesa, Saxony, to discuss the party\u2019s election platform. The conference began two hours late due to protests by AfD opponents outside the venue. Discussions on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7198,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1483,3088,4810,2370,2314,4809,1091,1902,4807,4808,4800,503,3628,545,4805,4806,4801,2886,4804,4802,4803],"class_list":["post-7197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","tag-afd","tag-alice-weidel","tag-asylum-policy","tag-bjorn-hocke","tag-cdu","tag-citizenship-allowance","tag-climate-change","tag-conscription","tag-election-program","tag-gender-studies","tag-germany-federal-elections","tag-headline","tag-immigration-policy","tag-nord-stream","tag-nuclear-energy","tag-re-immigration","tag-reverse-migration","tag-thuringia","tag-wind-turbines","tag-young-alternative","tag-young-patriots"],"yoast_head":"\n