We Citizens ( German : Wir Bürger , WB ) is a political party in Germany . Formerly Liberal Conservative Reformers ( German : Liberal-Konservative Reformer , LKR ), it was known from July 2015 to November 2016 as ALFA .
86-625: The party was established in July 2015 as a split from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) led by former AfD spokesman Bernd Lucke . It was founded as the Alliance for Progress and Renewal ( Allianz für Fortschritt und Aufbruch , ALFA), but changed its name in November 2016 after litigation with the anti-abortion organization "Aktion Lebensrecht für Alle" (Action Right to Life for All) which uses
172-463: A radical right populist party or as "a typical radical right-wing populist party", with an emphasis on nativism . Within its elected representation and grassroots membership, AfD has grown to contain interparty factions that range from more moderate conservatives to radicals. AfD was initially founded as a liberal conservative party of the middle class , with a tendency toward soft Euroscepticism , being supportive of Germany's membership in
258-529: A "180 degree" turn with regard to its sense of national pride. Uwe Kamann Uwe Kamann (born 19 August 1958) is a German politician born in Magdeburg , Saxony-Anhalt . Uwe Kamann has served as a member of the Bundestag from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2017. After graduating from secondary school, Kamann completed vocational training as a power plant electronics engineer with
344-500: A "peaceful, democratic and sovereign nation-state of the German people ." Political scientists and journalists have also described the AfD as synonymous with opposition to immigration , Euroscepticism , and holding a nationalist bent, with various shades of German nationalism from civic nationalism to hardline sentiments visible in the party. Other commentators have categorized it as
430-511: A 50% turnout. After months of factional infighting and a cancelled party gathering in June 2015, Frauke Petry was elected on 4 July 2015 as the de facto principal speaker of the party with 60% of the member votes ahead of Bernd Lucke at a party congress in Essen . Petry was a member of the national-conservative faction of AfD. Her leadership was widely seen as heralding a shift of the party to
516-668: A branch organisation in each of the sixteen German states. In some states there were also regional organisations. Additionally there was a Youth Organisation, Junge Reformer (Young Reformers), shortened jure . Jure's chairman was also elected vice chairman of the European Young Conservatives . There was also a club of women within the party and an official group for small and medium-sized firm owners. Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany ( German : Alternative für Deutschland , AfD , German pronunciation: [aːʔɛfˈdeː] )
602-531: A cooperation pact with the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). On 8 March 2016, the bureau of the ECR group began motions to exclude AfD from their group due to its links with the far-right FPÖ, inviting the two remaining AfD MEPs to leave the group by 31 March, with a motion of exclusion to be tabled on 12 April if they refuse to leave voluntarily. While MEP Beatrix von Storch left the ECR group on 8 April to join
688-613: A currency area and that southern European states were "sinking into poverty under the competitive pressure of the euro". Some candidates of what would become AfD sought election in Lower Saxony as part of the Electoral Alternative 2013 in alliance with the Free Voters , an association participating in local elections without specific federal or foreign policies, and received 1% of the vote. In February 2013,
774-444: A focus on German nationalism , on reclaiming Germany's sovereignty and national pride, especially in repudiation of Germany's culture of shame with regard to its Nazi past, became more central in AfD's ideology and a central plank in its populist appeals. Petry, who led the moderate wing of the party, said that Germany should reclaim völkisch from its Nazi connotations, while the more right-wing Björn Höcke regularly speaks of
860-591: A further shift to the right after Petry left the party in 2017 and formed The Blue Party , following AfD's adoption of more hardline Islamophobic , anti-immigration positions, and historical revisionist remarks by leading AfD figures. The party now resembles other populist radical right parties in Europe but is somewhat unusual because it maintains visible ties to even more extreme groups. The party has been described by political scientists as more radical than many other European right-wing populist parties, including
946-649: A member of the party. In 2023, the AfD saw over 86 violent attacks on AfD party representatives. This was more than on any other German party. In January 2024, Correctiv reported that members of the AfD had secretly met with figures from the German and Austrian far-right in November 2023, in which they allegedly discussed a " remigration " plan for deporting immigrants, which could include naturalised German citizens. The figures present included Identitarian activist Martin Sellner . The AfD distanced itself from
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#17327718944601032-452: A perceived right-wing populist tendency in the AfD. At an extraordinary party convention in Essen on 4 July 2015, Lucke was defeated in the election for chairman by his opponent Petry, who received 60% of the vote. The following week, five AfD MEPs exited the party on 7 July 2015, and Lucke announced his resignation from the party on 8 July, leading to the formation of the ALFA party. ALFA
1118-487: A platform that, according to The Wall Street Journal , "urges Germany to close its borders to asylum applicants, end sanctions on Russia and to leave the EU if Berlin fails to retrieve national sovereignty from Brussels, as well as to amend the country's constitution to allow people born to non-German parents to have their German citizenship revoked if they commit serious crimes." In the 2017 federal election, AfD won 12.6% of
1204-456: A press conference held by AfD the day after the 2017 federal election, Frauke Petry said that she would participate in the Bundestag as an independent; she said she did this because extremist statements by some members made it impossible for AfD to function as a constructive opposition, and to make clear to voters that there is internal dissent in the AfD. She also said that she would be leaving
1290-672: A question and answer session organized by the Conservative Party-allied Bruges Group think tank in Portcullis House , London. In a detailed report in the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in April 2013, the paper's Berlin-based political correspondent Majid Sattar revealed that the SPD and CDU had conducted opposition research to blunt the growth and attraction of AfD. Advocating
1376-516: A state election. The AfD also performed strongly in Brandenburg and Saxony . Defunct Defunct The AfD is broadly considered to be a right-wing and national-conservative movement in both socioeconomic and sociocultural terms. AfD's policy brief and mission statement seeks to define the party as both liberal and conservative, with an emphasis on protecting sovereignty , Western identity , and German culture in what it calls
1462-571: A suspected right-wing extremist group. A corresponding lawsuit by the AfD was dismissed because "there were sufficient factual indications of anti-constitutional efforts within the AfD". The dismissal was upheld in May 2024. On 26 April 2023, the BfV, after four years of investigations into the Young Alternative for Germany , categorized that group as a confirmed extremist organisation. This allowed
1548-829: A total of 18. In the 2023 Berlin repeat state election , the AfD recorded a small upswing by gaining 4 seats compared to the 2021 election. In the 2023 Bremen state election , AfD did not participate and lost all their seats, as the Bremen electoral committee had barred the AfD from the election due to internal divisions that had resulted in them submitting two lists of candidates. The Citizens in Rage , another right-wing party, participated instead; they have received 10 seats (after having only one seat in 2019) in Bremen's state parliament. On 25 June 2023, amid rises in polls, Thuringia 's AfD won its first district election in Sonneberg . In
1634-481: Is a far-right and right-wing populist political party in Germany. The AfD is Eurosceptic , and opposes immigration to Germany – especially of Muslims . The German judiciary has classified the party as a "suspected extremist " party. Established in April 2013, AfD narrowly missed the 5% electoral threshold to sit in the Bundestag during the 2013 German federal election . The party won seven seats in
1720-586: The Neue Rechte , and the Identitarian movement , and of employing historical revisionism , as well as xenophobic rhetoric. They have been observed by various state offices for the protection of the constitution since 2018. AfD's leadership has denied that the party is racist and has been internally divided on whether to endorse such groups. In January 2022, party leader Jörg Meuthen resigned his party chairmanship with immediate effect and left
1806-513: The 2014 European Parliament election in Germany as a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). After securing representation in 14 of the 16 German state parliaments by October 2017, AfD won 94 seats in the 2017 German federal election and became the third-largest party in the country, as well as the largest opposition party; its lead candidates were the co-vice chairman Alexander Gauland and Alice Weidel ,
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#17327718944601892-526: The 2017 German federal election , Kamann moved into the Bundestag via the North Rhine-Westphalian AfD state list 9. On 17 December 2018 Kamann announced his resignation from the AfD and the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag. He justified this with "different views on the political and technical orientations of the party and the parliamentary group”. Kamann opposes military support for Ukraine. This biography article about
1978-403: The 2021 German federal election , the agency stated it would not make public announcements regarding investigations into the AfD or its candidates for the foreseeable future. After the revelations, the surveillance was blocked by the courts to give equal opportunities among political parties in a key election year. In 2022, it was ruled that the BfV may classify and monitor the entire party as
2064-546: The Brandenburg state election , winning 11 seats in both state parliaments. On 15 February 2015, AfD won 6.1% of the vote in the Hamburg state election , gaining the mandate for eight seats in the Hamburg Parliament , winning their first seats in a western German state. On 10 May 2015, AfD secured in the 5.5% of the vote in the 2015 Bremen state election gaining representation in their fifth state parliament on
2150-776: The Canadian model and is opposed to illegal immigration. The party rejects a minimum wage, but prefers a so-called activating minimum income for every citizen. The party describes itself as morally conservative, economically liberal and as an advocate of technological progress. The party fully rejects extremism of every kind. The party calls for fundamental reform of the European Union and the Eurozone , arguing it should go back to its "core competencies" with less political interference in member states, an end to migration quotas and no more bailouts for Eurozone members. The party had
2236-889: The Conservative Party in Britain rather than hard Eurosceptic or nationalist parties such as the UK Independence Party or the National Front in France. AfD was also compared to the Tea Party movement by some media outlets due to its campaigns against Eurozone bailouts, although AfD's early leadership disputed this and said it was not looking to attract right-wing extremists into the party. In 2015, more moderate members, including founder and former chairman Bernd Lucke , left AfD after Frauke Petry
2322-574: The Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group, Marcus Pretzell let himself be expelled on 12 April 2016. With the European migrant crisis remaining the dominant national issue, elections on 13 March were held in the three states of Baden-Württemberg , Rhineland-Palatinate , and Saxony-Anhalt , and saw the AfD receiving double-digit percentages of the vote in all three states. In the 2016 Saxony-Anhalt state election , AfD reached second place in
2408-706: The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, to which Britain's Conservative Party belongs. In April 2014, Hans-Olaf Henkel , AfD's second candidate on the European election list, ruled out forming a group with the UKIP. stating that he saw the Conservatives as the preferred partner in the European Parliament. On 10 May 2014, Lucke had been in talks with the Czech and Polish member parties of
2494-594: The European Union but critical of further European integration , the existence of the euro currency and the bailouts by the Eurozone for countries such as Greece. At that time, the party also advocated support for Swiss-style semi-direct democracy , major reforms to the Eurozone, opposition to immigration , and opposed same-sex marriage . During this period, the party espoused economic liberal , ordoliberal , and national liberal policy stances. Former party MEP Hans-Olaf Henkel likened AfD's early platform to
2580-615: The National Democratic Party of Germany (NDP) halved, dropping to 3.0%. Rising support for AfD meant that The Greens and the NDP failed to reach the 5% threshold to qualify for seats in the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern , and consequently lost their seats. In the 2016 Berlin state election , which AfD also contested for the first time, the party achieved a vote of 14.2%, making them the fifth largest party represented in
2666-853: The Sweden Democrats , the Danish People's Party , and the Freedom Party of Austria . AfD has been described as, and accused of, containing members sympathetic to the Identitarian movement and Pegida . The AfD leadership has been split on whether to embrace these movements within the party. In March 2020, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution ( German : Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz ) classified AfD's far-right nationalistic faction known as Der Flügel as "a right-wing extremist endeavor against
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2752-566: The Vaterland ("fatherland") and Volk ("nation" or "people", but with a strong ethnic or racial connotation). In January 2017, Höcke in a speech stated, in reference to the Berlin Holocaust Memorial , that "Germans are the only people in the world who plant a monument of shame in the heart of the capital" and criticized this "laughable policy of coming to terms with the past ". Höcke continued that Germany should make
2838-540: The Young Alternative for Germany was founded in Darmstadt as the AfD's youth organisation. During the British prime minister David Cameron 's visit to Germany in April 2013, the Conservative Party was reported to have contacted both AfD and the Free Voters to discuss possible cooperation, supported by the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group of the European Parliament. In June 2013, Bernd Lucke gave
2924-630: The centre-right but pro-European CDU. The party presented itself as an economically liberal , Eurosceptic , and conservative movement in its early years. AfD subsequently moved further to the right, and expanded its policies under successive leaderships to include opposition to immigration, Islam , and the European Union . Since 2015, AfD's ideology has been characterised by German nationalism , Völkisch nationalism and national conservatism , with policy focus on opposing Islam , opposing immigration , welfare chauvinism and Euroscepticism . When party founder Bernd Lucke had left
3010-531: The run-off election held on 2 July, the AfD candidate Hannes Loth [ de ] won against the independent politician Nils Naumann, becoming AfD's first ever mayor. On October 8 state elections, AfD significantly increased its share in Hesse where it became the second biggest party (+9 seats) and in Bavaria , where it became the third (+10 seats). Observers considered the increase of support for
3096-491: The 2021 federal election, AfD campaigned with the slogan "Germany. But Normal" and took a position of opposing further lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany . Having moved further right on economic issues and remaining strongly right on socio-cultural issues, despite attempts to normalize, AfD's manifesto for the federal election was deemed to be still too radical for the party to take part in government. In
3182-503: The AfD as not being limited to the local level. Opinion polling for the next German federal election conducted in early July 2023 showed that the AfD polled more than the SPD, achieving second place behind the CDU/CSU alliance. The SPD co-leader said a ban should be considered if the AfD is categorized as a group of "proven Right-wing extremists" by the Federal Office for the Protection of
3268-618: The AfD in 2015, he cited, among other reasons an “ anti-western , decidedly pro-Russian foreign and security policy orientation ” as well as increasing calls to “pose the ‘system question’ with regard to our parliamentary democracy” as reasons for his departure from the party. The AfD is the only party represented in the Bundestag whose environmental and climate policy is based on the denial of human-caused global warming . Several state associations and other factions of AfD have been linked to or accused of harboring connections with far-right nationalist and proscribed movements, such as PEGIDA ,
3354-478: The AfD, as he said he came to acknowledge that the party had developed very far to the right with totalitarian traits and in large parts was no longer based on the liberal democratic basic order . The party is the strongest in the areas of the former communist German Democratic Republic ( East Germany ), especially the states of Saxony and Thuringia , largely due to economic and integration issues that still continue to persist post-reunification, in addition to
3440-561: The AfD. Subsequently, the AfD was expelled from the ID group , with EKRE supporting expulsion of Krah, but opposing the removal of the entire AfD delegation, and the FPÖ opposing the expulsion of the AfD. On 9 June 2024, the AfD won 16% of the vote in the European Parliament elections, second only to the CDU/CSU and almost five percentage points more than in the 2019 election. The AfD prevailed in all five former East German states. One of
3526-651: The Bundestag. In early 2022, the party lost its last seats in the State Parliaments . In January 2023, the Member of the European Parliament Lars Patrick Berg left the party and joined Bündnis Deutschland . In June 2024, Wir Bürger started a potential merger with Bündnis Deutschland . The association "Action Right to Life for All" ( Aktion Lebensrecht für Alle ), shortened to ALfA in German , took legal action against
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3612-481: The Constitution . Friedrich Merz , the CDU leader, warned that "banning parties has never actually solved political problems". Germans are evenly split on a ban, with 47 per cent in favour and 47 per cent against; the ban is more popular in the west and among liberal Greens. In December 2023, Tim Lochner of AfD was elected mayor of Pirna (Saxony), he became the first mayor of a city with more than 20,000 inhabitants to be
3698-437: The ECR group. In the 2014 European Parliament election on 25 May, AfD came in fifth place in Germany, with 7.1% of the national vote (2,065,162 votes), and seven Members of the European parliament (MEPs). On 12 June 2014, it was announced that AfD had been accepted into the ECR group in the European Parliament. The official vote result was not released to the public, but figures of 29 votes for and 26 against were reported by
3784-500: The East German voters' perceived propensity for strongman rule. In the 2021 federal elections, AfD fell from third to fifth place overall but made gains in the eastern states (the former East Germany). In the former East Berlin it came in second after SPD with 20.5% of the vote, while in the west it came in fifth with 8.4% of the vote. In September 2012, Alexander Gauland , Bernd Lucke , and journalist Konrad Adam founded
3870-430: The European Parliament and Bremen. The party founding was preceded by months of power struggle between Bernd Lucke and Frauke Petry for AfD party leadership, the latter being leader of the party's national-conservative wing. In the course of the dispute Lucke and leading AfD members with liberal-conservative and economic liberal orientations founded the association Weckruf 2015 (wake-up call 2015) out of concern for
3956-430: The European elections unconstitutional, and the 2014 European Parliament election became the first run in Germany without a barrier for representation. AfD held a party conference on 25 January 2014 at Frankenstolz Arena , Aschaffenburg , northwest Bavaria . The conference chose the slogan Mut zu Deutschland ("Courage [to stand up] for Germany") to replace the former slogan Mut zur Wahrheit (lit. "Courage [to speak]
4042-590: The German Federal Railways. From 1989 to 2000 Kamann worked for the IT service company debis Systemhaus . Kamann was on the board of the IT company CSC Ploenzke until 2003 when his contract was not renewed after a strategic reorientation. From May 2004 to the end of 2005, Kamann was managing director of the software company DANET in Weiterstadt. In 2006 Kamann founded the company SEPICON AG. After
4128-465: The Landtag, receiving 24.2% of the vote. In the 2016 Baden-Württemberg state election , AfD achieved third place, with 15.1% of the vote. In the 2016 Rhineland-Palatinate state election , AfD again reached third place, with 12.6% of the vote. In Angela Merkel 's home state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern , her CDU was beaten into third place following a strong showing of AfD, who contested at state level for
4214-642: The abolition of the euro, AfD took a more radical stance than the Free Voters. The Pirate Party Germany opposed any coalition with AfD at their 2013 spring convention. The AfD's initial supporters were the same prominent economists, business leaders, and journalists who had supported the Electoral Alternative 2013, including former members of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), who had previously challenged
4300-667: The chief of the BfV Thomas Haldenwang to place the youth wing under even more intensive surveillance than the tapping of phone and the use of undercover agents that had been the case until then. Political commentators and analysts have described the party as containing two prominent factions: subscribers to the more dovish and moderate national-conservative Alternative Mitte (Alternative Midpoint) wing, such as parliamentarians Jörg Meuthen , Alice Weidel , and Beatrix von Storch , who oppose collaboration with movements or figures like Pegida founder Lutz Bachmann ; and
4386-629: The constitutionality of the German government's eurozone policies at the Federal Constitutional Court . AfD did not regard itself as a splinter party from the CDU, as its early membership also contained a former state leader from the Free Democratic Party and members of the Federation of Independent Voters, a pressure group of independents and small business owners. On 22 September 2013, AfD won 4.7% of
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#17327718944604472-481: The defection of Jochen Paulus from the Free Democratic Party to AfD in early May 2013; he was not re-elected and left office in January 2014. In the 2013 Hesse state election held on 22 September, the same day as the 2013 federal election, AfD failed to gain representation with just 4% of the vote. In early 2014, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled the proposed 3% vote hurdle for representation in
4558-460: The eastern Saxony-Anhalt state, resigned his post after making racist remarks concerning Turks and immigrants with dual citizenship. In 2019, Poggenburg started a new far-right party, Aufbruch deutscher Patrioten – Mitteldeutschland (ADPM), which he left in August 2019 after his internal call to dissolve ADPM and to support AfD in the upcoming state elections of fall 2019 was denied. Ahead of
4644-483: The federal election, AfD saw a dip in national vote share by getting 10.3% of the vote, compared to 12.6% in 2017; however, the party emerged as the largest in the states of Saxony and Thuringia , and saw a strong performance in eastern Germany . The party's results drew a mixed analysis from AfD members and political commentators, the latter of whom attributed the slight decline to visible infighting, whereas AfD candidates such as Alice Weidel blamed media bias against
4730-562: The first time, to claim the second-highest polling with 20.8% of the vote in the 2016 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election . AfD voter support in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania appears to have come from both left-wing and right-wing parties, with support for the Social Democratic Party of Germany down 4.9%, CDU down 4.1%, The Left down 5.2%, Alliance '90/The Greens down 3.9%, and support for
4816-452: The following weekend to choose the remaining euro candidates. Candidates from 7th–28th place on the party list were selected in Berlin on 1 February. Party chairman Bernd Lucke was elected as lead candidate. In February 2014, AfD officials said they had discussed alliances with Britain's anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP), which Lucke and the federal board of AfD opposed, and also with
4902-535: The free democratic basic order" and as "not compatible with the Basic Law", placing it under government surveillance. In early March 2021, most of Germany's major media outlets reported that the Bundesverfassungsschutz had placed the whole AfD under surveillance as a "suspected extremist group". In response to claims from AfD members that the move was intended to damage the party's chances in
4988-692: The group decided to found a new party to compete in the 2013 federal election; according to a leaked email from Lucke, the Free Voters leadership declined to join forces. The party was founded on 6 February 2013. On 14 April 2013, the AfD announced its presence to the wider public when it held its first convention in Berlin , elected the party leadership, and adopted a party platform. Bernd Lucke, entrepreneur Frauke Petry and Konrad Adam were elected as speakers. AfD's federal board also chose Alexander Gauland, Roland Klaus, and Patricia Casale as its three deputy speakers. The party elected treasurer Norbert Stenzel and
5074-436: The latter having served as the party group leader in the 19th Bundestag . In the 2021 federal election , AfD dropped to being the fifth-largest party. Since 2023 polling shows AfD as the second most popular party. AfD was founded by Gauland, Bernd Lucke , and former members of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) to oppose the policies of the Eurozone as a right-wing and moderately Eurosceptic alternative to
5160-406: The meeting, saying it was not responsible for what was discussed and that its members had attended only in a personal capacity. Alice Weidel parted ways with Roland Hartwig , an advisor who was present at the meeting. The plan was condemned by German politicians, including chancellor Olaf Scholz . The report sparked protests against the AfD across Germany, with protestors calling for a ban of
5246-401: The membership. The inclusion of AfD in the ECR group was said to have caused mild tensions between the German chancellor Angela Merkel and the British prime minister David Cameron . On 31 August, AfD scored 9.7% of the vote in the 2014 Saxony state election , winning 14 seats in the Landtag of Saxony . On 14 September, AfD obtained 10.6% of the vote in the 2014 Thuringian and 12.2% in
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#17327718944605332-612: The more hardline identitarian Der Flügel (The Wing) faction, comprising figures at state level such as Thuringia state leader Björn Höcke . Political author Jeffrey Gedmin has described the present incarnation of AfD as somewhat lacking in a consistent ideological vision and containing a broad church of members who are conservatives, social conservatives, radical-rightists, and others who do not present clear ideological narrative. He also described some of its core voter support as ranging from far-right nationalists to moderate but traditionalist and disaffected conservatives. Over time,
5418-429: The party at some future date. Petry formed the Blue Party in September 2017. Four members of AfD in the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania legislature, including Bernhard Wild, also left the party to form Citizens for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern , which folded in December 2018. On 6 November 2019, Petry announced that the Blue Party would dissolve by the end of the year In 2018, André Poggenburg , AfD's regional leader of
5504-456: The party at state level in North Rhine-Westphalia , and Christian Schäfer, chair of the ALFA caucus in the state parliament of Bremen, were elected vice chairmen. Bernd Lucke was instead elected almost unanimously the party's number one candidate for the next general election in Germany, that will be held in 2017. Later that year Trebesius resigned from office. Thus Christian Kott from Bremen was elected chairman on 12 November 2016, in Frankfurt. On
5590-446: The party because of the usage of the same acronym. The anti-abortion organization won at the Augsburg regional court. If the party was to disobey, it would be subject to a fine of 250,000 euros. Consequently, the party changed its name to "Liberal-Konservative Reformer" (Liberal-Conservative Reformers). Separately, the German subsidiary of Alfa Romeo , the Italian car manufacturer, was reported as considering taking legal action against
5676-407: The party conference in April 2017, Frauke Petry announced that she would not run as the party's main candidate for the 2017 federal election. This announcement grew out of internal power struggle as the party's support had fallen in polls from 15% in the summer of 2016 to 7% just before the conference. Björn Höcke from the far-right wing of the party and Petry were attempting to push each other out of
5762-447: The party over the use of the acronym ALFA. The party criticises the low-, zero- and negative-interest policies of the European Central Bank . It also emphasises Western alignment with NATO and the EU as the foundation of a transatlantic security structure. LKR favors free trade in general and under certain conditions the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). It supports immigration of suitably qualified candidates on
5848-432: The party regained a representation in the Bundestag . In July 2021 the Independent Member of the European Parliament and Member of the European Conservatives and Reformists Lars Patrick Berg joined the party. In the 2021 German federal election , the party ran 52 direct candidates in eleven states. It polled less than 11,000 constituency votes (30th in rank) and less than 12,000 party votes, and thus won no seats in
5934-422: The party should reevaluate the result and aim on "sending strong signals towards the center" to win back new voters. Meuthen left the party in January 2022. AfD held their three seats in the 2022 Saarland state election . At the same time, they lost all their seats in the 2022 Schleswig-Holstein state election . In the 2022 Lower Saxony state election in October, the AfD won 9 more seats compared to 2017 to
6020-401: The party's leaders, Tino Chrupalla , hailed the results as "historic." In an attempt to rejoin the ID group , the AfD replaced its controversial candidate Maximilian Krah with René Aust as head of the AfD delegation in the European Parliament. In the 2024 Thuringian state election , the AfD became the first far-right party in Germany since the Nazi Party to win a plurality of seats in
6106-475: The party. It has been estimated that 20% percent of the then AfD membership moved to ALFA with Lucke. On 18 March 2016, ALFA was admitted into the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists . The party met on 4 June 2016 for its second convention, at which Ulrike Trebesius, member of the European Parliament, was elected party chairwoman. On her side her fellow MEP Bernd Kölmel, Ulrich van Suntum, professor of economics at Münster University and chairman of
6192-548: The party. At a meeting of members of the Wake-up call (Weckruf 2015) group on 19 July 2015, AfD founder Bernd Lucke and former AfD members announced they would form a new party, the Alliance for Progress and Renewal , under the founding principles of AfD. The split off party was eventually renamed the Liberal Conservative Reformers , but had little electoral success. In February 2016, AfD announced
6278-451: The party. Petry's decision was partly seen as a step to avoid a vote at the conference on the issue of her standing. The party chose Alexander Gauland, a stark conservative who worked as an editor and was a former member of the CDU, to lead the party in the elections. Gauland supported the retention of Höcke's party membership. Alice Weidel, who is perceived as more moderate and neoliberal , was elected as his running mate. The party approved
6364-435: The party. Political scientist Kai Arzheimer commented that the result "wasn't any appreciable increase, but it wasn't a disaster for them." Arzheimer also posited that the result demonstrated that AfD had firmly established itself in German national politics but had not reached beyond its core support. AfD's top candidates Tino Chrupalla and Weidel praised the result as "solid", while party spokesman Jörg Meuthen stated that
6450-466: The political group Electoral Alternative 2013 ( German : Wahlalternative 2013 ) in Bad Nauheim , to oppose German federal policies concerning the eurozone crisis , and to confront German-supported bailouts for poorer southern European countries. Their manifesto was endorsed by several economists, journalists, and business leaders, and stated that the eurozone had proven to be " unsuitable " as
6536-442: The right to focus more on issues such as immigration, Islam, and strengthening ties to Russia , a shift which was claimed by Lucke as turning the party into a " Pegida party". In the following week, five MEPs exited the party on 7 July, the only remaining MEPs being Beatrix von Storch and Marcus Pretzell , and Lucke announced on 8 July 2015 that he was resigning from AfD, citing the rise of xenophobic and pro-Russian sentiments in
6622-616: The same acronym. The party was initially represented by five MEPs in the European Parliament (as members of the European Conservatives and Reformists group) and three members of the Bürgerschaft of Bremen due to their formal withdrawal from the AfD. In September 2018, all its MEPs but Lucke left the party. In the 2019 European Elections and the Bremen state election on the same day, LKR lost all its remaining seats in
6708-405: The same convention party delegates also changed the party's name to Liberal-Conservative Reformers. Since then the party name is often abbreviated LKR. On 17 September 2017, a new party executive committee was elected, with Bernd Kölmel as party chairman. Other members of the executive committee include Bernd Lucke , Ulrike Trebesius and Hans-Olaf Henkel . In September 2018, Joachim Starbatty
6794-411: The state assembly. Their vote seems to have come equally from the SPD and CDU, whose votes declined 6.7% and 5.7%, respectively. At the party congress held on 30 April to 1 May 2016, AfD adopted a policy platform based upon opposition to Islam, calling for the ban of Islamic symbols including burqas , minarets , and adhan (call to prayer), using the slogan "Islam is not a part of Germany". At
6880-404: The three assessors Irina Smirnova, Beatrix Diefenbach, and Wolf-Joachim Schünemann. Economist Joachim Starbatty , along with Jörn Kruse , Helga Luckenbach , Dirk Meyer , and Roland Vaubel , were elected to the party's scientific advisory board. Between 31 March and 12 May 2013, AfD founded affiliates in all 16 states of Germany in order to participate in the federal elections. On 15 June 2013,
6966-416: The truth", or more succinctly, "Telling it as it is"), which prompted disagreement among the federal board that the party could be seen as too anti-European. A compromise was reached by using the slogan "MUT ZU D*EU*TSCHLAND", with the "EU" in "DEUTSCHLAND" encircled by the 12 stars of the European flag . The conference elected the top six candidates for the European elections on 26 January 2014 and met again
7052-421: The vote and received 94 seats; this was the first time it had won seats in the Bundestag . It won three constituency seats, which would have been enough to qualify for proportionally-elected seats in any event. Under a long-standing law intended to benefit regional parties, any party that wins at least three constituency seats qualifies for its share of proportionally-elected seats, regardless of vote share. At
7138-431: The votes in the 2013 federal election, just missing the 5% barrier to enter the Bundestag . The party won about 2 million party list votes and 810,000 constituency votes, which was 1.9% of the total of these votes cast across Germany. AfD did not participate in the 2013 Bavaria state election held on 15 September. The party gained parliamentary representation for the first time in the state parliament of Hesse , with
7224-566: Was elected chairperson to found a new party, the Alliance for Progress and Renewal, which was renamed the Liberal Conservative Reformers in November 2016. At that time, AfD was performing poorly in opinion polls, polling at around 3%, and was suffering infighting; however, an influx of refugees and migrants boosted their support later in 2015, with the party turning from matters related to the Eurozone to focus on opposing migration, in particular Muslims and Muslim immigration. AfD underwent
7310-463: Was formally founded on 19 July 2015 at a closed inaugural meeting of 70 people in Kassel, Hesse where statutes and a party platform were approved and Bernd Lucke MEP was elected chairman. Also selected as its foundation were its deputy chairmen was Bernd Kölmel MEP, Gunther Nickel and Reiner Rohlje , and the general secretary Ulrike Trebesius MEP. Former party treasurer Piet Leidreiter also joined
7396-533: Was the first member to leave the party. Henkel stated that since the party split from the AfD in July 2015 that the media no longer took notice of the party, stating it would be a "challenge" for the five LKR MEPs to be re-elected in 2019. Henkel, who would be 79 in 2019, did not plan to stand for election again. In the 2019 European Parliament election , LKR lost all its remaining seats in the European Parliament. In Autumn 2020, MPs Uwe Kamann and Mario Mieruch left Alternative for Germany and joined LKR; therefore,
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