Open power struggle in AfD's North Rhine-Westphalia branch
The far-right German party AfD faces an internal conflict as a radical faction tries to influence candidate lists, while the party leadership shows no distance from the far-right scene.
In the largest regional branch of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in North Rhine-Westphalia, an open power struggle has erupted, increasingly slipping out of the control of the federal leadership. According to the joint podcast "Inside AfD" by POLITICO and WELT, the radical Helferich faction attempted to sabotage the list election.
Regional chairman Martin Vincentz has taken legal action against Alice Weidel, seeking to stop her. This marks a breach of the long-standing taboo of resistance. Podcast hosts Pauline von Pezold and Frederik Schindler discuss how the party leadership lacks reservations about the far-right extremist scene.
Notably, leading politicians like Ulrich Siegmund have given friendly interviews to convicted neo-Nazi Sebastian Schmidtke. The party's official incompatibility list is reportedly being ignored in practice.
Furthermore, following the resignation of Jens Spahn, AfD officials have begun instrumentalizing the ethical debate on surrogacy as a cover to fundamentally question the suitability of same-sex couples for raising children.
