AfD Federal Party Convention in Erfurt: Weidel and Chrupalla Confirmed as Dual Leadership

The first day of the congress focused on the executive board elections. Alice Weidel, who has led the AfD alongside Tino Chrupalla in a dual leadership since 2022, received 81.3 percent of the delegates' votes. Two years ago, Weidel had achieved 79.8 percent, meaning she was able to slightly improve her result. Tino Chrupalla, who has co-led the party since 2019, received 70.05 percent – a significant decline compared to his previous result of 82.7 percent. According to reports, the election result was met in the hall with only restrained applause.

Election Results and Power Relations

In terms of content, the party leadership made the case for its claim to governmental responsibility. Chrupalla told the delegates that the AfD had by now grown into a people's party: „Vielleicht können wir bald schon alleine regieren“. Weidel affirmed the party's claim to power: „Wir sind die neue Volkspartei in Deutschland“. Both emphasized that they were counting in particular on the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and Berlin in September.

In her speech, Weidel sharply attacked Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), calling him „den Vivaldi unter den Regierungschefs“, who announced reforms for all four seasons. What followed was „ein Streichkonzert, in dem Versprechen gestrichen würden“. Weidel also announced a policy of „rigoroser Abschiebungen" and pitched the AfD as „politischen Taktangeber im Bund". With regard to the CDU, she declared: „Die CDU macht Politik gegen die Deutschen, gegen Deutschland, gegen die Interessen in unseren Land".

Claim to Power and Speeches by the Party Leadership

Before the vote, Chrupalla pushed back against reports of a rivalry between himself and Weidel: „Unsere Partei ist einig wie nie zu vor". Addressing the lead candidates of the state associations, he said: „Ihr seid unsere Hoffnung dieses Jahr". He also called out to the delegates: „Wir werden gewinnen". His subsequent reference to the failed blockade maneuver, „Die Randalierer von der Antifa haben ihr eigenes Störmanöver verschlafen", drew reactions in the hall.

Höcke's Appearance and Intra-Party Debate

The Thuringian AfD state chairman Björn Höcke took the podium at 10:53 a.m. carrying a German flag. He declared the strategy of political exclusion of the AfD to have failed and said: „Die Brandmauer hat uns groß gemacht". Höcke threatened a „bunten Zivilgesellschaft" with the withdrawal of public funds: „Wenn wir regieren, dann wird der bunten Zivilgesellschaft der Steuerstecker gezogen". He also complained about damaged motorways and alleged censorship.

Höcke also introduced a motion to revise the party's incompatibility list, which was intended to make it easier for former members of extremist parties to join the AfD. Weidel described the concerns associated with the motion as legitimate, but announced that the incompatibility list would be revised within one year. The motion's sponsors ultimately withdrew their motion, thereby averting a fundamental intra-party debate for the time being. Höcke also called for paedophilia to be punished „drakonisch".

New Vice-Chairs and Executive Board Elections

In addition to the co-chairs, the delegates elected three deputy party chairs. With 55.7 percent, the Bavarian parliamentary group leader Katrin Ebner-Steiner was elected; she is counted as part of the Höcke camp. Also elected to the executive board was Stefan Möller, co-state chairman of the AfD in Thuringia and a Höcke confidant, who received 76.54 percent. During the campaign, Möller had said: „Björn Höcke ist mein Weggefährte, er ist mein Freund". With a narrow majority of 50.7 percent, Sven Tritschler from North Rhine-Westphalia also prevailed over the incumbent Kay Gottschalk; he had been proposed by Weidel.

Other executive board positions were also filled anew. Dennis Hohloch, an ally of Weidel's, was re-elected as secretary with around 82 percent. During the campaign, Hohloch had attracted attention with statements such as „Wir wollen kein Multikulti" and „Wir lassen es nicht zu, dass unsere Gesellschaft transformiert wird". The delegates elected Hannes Gnauck from Brandenburg as federal treasurer; Alexander Jungbluth was confirmed as deputy treasurer. In the financial report, party assets of 45 million euros were reported following the revaluation of precious metals.

During the election of the deputy chairs, a curious incident occurred: from Bluetooth speakers discovered behind a side paneling, the „Kaisermarsch" melody from Star Wars could be heard. Technicians investigated the incident. The convention was scheduled to continue until the following day; a total of twelve further executive board positions were up for vote, several of them with competing candidacies.

Large-Scale Demonstrations in Erfurt

Outside the trade fair hall, according to police figures from midday, around 25,000 people protested against the AfD convention. In the morning there had initially been around 20,000 demonstrators. All in all, more than 30 rallies had been registered in the city. Police were on the scene with thousands of officers and appealed to demonstrators to remain peaceful. In isolated confrontations, pepper spray was used; the security authorities did not rule out the arrival of up to 2,500 potentially violent demonstrators.

Among the registered large-scale rallies were an event by the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) with around 4,000 participants, as well as a demonstration by the SPD youth organization Jusos, which according to police attracted some 7,500 people. The alliance „Widersetzen" had called in advance for large-scale protests and blockades. Its spokesperson Suraj Mailitafi stated that they would „das AfD-Verbot heute auf der Straße durch" and that Erfurt should become an „antifaschistische Hauptstadt".

The Left Party (Die Linke) member of the Bundestag Luke Hoß spoke to AFP of a „riesigen Erfolg" of the protests and a massive mobilization of civil society against a „faschistische Partei". At the same time, he acknowledged that the alliance's original goal of fully preventing the convention had not been achieved: „Von einem Scheitern kann keine Rede sein". Police reported at midday that the blockade at the Erfurt motorway interchange had ended.

Political Situation Ahead of the State Elections

The background to the congress is the heightened political situation ahead of the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and Berlin in the autumn. Polls show the AfD clearly ahead in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; in Saxony-Anhalt, institutes do not rule out an absolute majority for the AfD. At the federal level, pollsters see the AfD at the time of the convention as stronger than ever. All other parties represented in the Bundestag rule out cooperation with the AfD; a joint motion on the question of incompatibility was not put to a vote at the convention, not least because of Weidel's intervention.

At the same time, the party is under observation by the domestic intelligence agency. Parts of the AfD are classified as „gesichert rechtsextremistisch", including the Saxony-Anhalt state association. In February, a Cologne court had, in summary proceedings, prohibited the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz) from classifying the federal party as „gesichert rechtsextremistisch"; the main hearing is still pending. In Berlin, the AfD is currently behind the Left Party and the Greens in polls, but ahead of the governing Union.

On the sidelines of the convention, Weidel drew a programmatic balance and announced: „Durch Wahlen holen wir politische Mehrheiten, und durch neue Gesetze führen wir die seit langem erforderlichen Korrekturen durch". Regarding the external pressure, she declared: „Ihr werdet uns nicht kleinkriegen, ganz im Gegenteil. Wir werden immer stärker und größer". Möller commented on the party's position on migration: „Unser Wähler will gar nicht, dass jeder Migrant das Land verlassen muss". This