AfD party conference elects Weidel as candidate for chancellor

The AfD is holding a national party conference today in Riesa, Saxony. At the two-day meeting, co-party leader Alice Weidel is to be elected as candidate for chancellor by the approximately 600 delegates. Also on the agenda is the resolution of the election program for the Bundestag elections. Opponents have called for protests in Riesa. The organizers expect more than 10,000 people to attend.

The highlight of the party conference is Weidel's election on the very first day. A presentation of the candidate by co-party leader Tino Chrupalla is planned, followed by a simple vote by standing up or a show of hands. Exact voting figures are therefore unlikely to be available. Participants expected the 45-year-old, who is due to give a speech afterwards, to receive a high level of approval in advance.

Clarification of open points in the AfD election program

So far, the AfD does not have a finished election program for the upcoming federal elections on 23 February. A draft is available. It includes demands for an exit from the EU, the euro and the Paris Climate Agreement. However, several points are still controversial. There are numerous Äamendments, for example in the areas of foreign, energy, migration and family policy, which will be debated and voted on in Riesa.

Debate on "Dexit"

The draft election manifesto explicitly advocates a so-called "Dexit" - a German exit from the EU. This and the establishment of a new European community are considered necessary, it says. However, amendments aim to mitigate this. The goal of a new community should remain, but without explicitly calling for Germany to leave the EU.

In any case, this would only be possible by amending the Basic Law with the necessary two-thirds majorities in the Bundestag and Bundesrat. This is because the Basic Law commits the Federal Republic of Germany to participate in the development of the European Union "for the realization of a united Europe".

Conscription and "remigration"

There are also discussions within the AfD on the issue of conscription, which the party advocates in its manifesto, but which is not included in the draft election manifesto. There had been fears in parts of the AfD, particularly in the east, that the issue would be rejected by voters against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. However, following criticism from within the party, compulsory military service is now to be included in the election manifesto after all.

In terms of migration policy, right-wing party member Björn Höcke and others have proposed changes. Among other things, they want to include the much-discussed word "remigration" in the election manifesto, which does not appear in the draft. The Thuringian AfD state leader and others are also campaigning for the abolition or restriction of the incitement to hatred paragraph and the criminal offence of using symbols of unconstitutional organizations and want to include this in the election manifesto.

"Father, mother, child"

The draft of the AfD election manifesto currently states: "The family is the nucleus of our society". Various petitioners are calling for the sentence to include the idea that the family consists of father, mother and children. This is also not uncontroversial. If the party conference decides in favor of this, it could come across as an indirect disapproval of the life model of its own candidate for chancellor, who lives with a woman.

"Patriotic Youth" instead of "Young Alternative"

Probably the most controversial item on the agenda revolves around the AfD's young talent: the AfD leadership and some representatives from state and district associations want to rename the youth organization "Young Alternative" (JA), which the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified as a "secured extremist movement" , with a new organization called "Patriotische Jugend".

More power and possible protection against bans

All AfD members up to the age of 36 should automatically be members of this new organization, unlike the JA, which is independent. Members do not have to be members of the AfD - except for the board members. According to the AfD leadership, they hope that the reform will give them more leverage in cases of misconduct, for example.

Experts, such as party law expert Sophie Schönberger from the University of Düsseldorf, see a further motivation for integrating the youth organization into the AfD: "Associations such as the Junge Alternative are subject to association law and can be banned much more easily than parties," she told ZDF in September.

Two-thirds majority required

However, a two-thirds majority is required at the party conference to amend the AfD constitution accordingly. It remains to be seen whether this will be achieved. The JA opposes the plans and has submitted a counter-motion, which is supported by numerous delegates.