New AfD faction in Bremerhaven: Lichtenfeld, Schäfer and Baltrusch united!

New AfD faction in Bremerhaven: Lichtenfeld, Schäfer and Baltrusch united!

In Bremerhaven, the political landscape has shifted somewhat: three individual MPs, Sven Lichtenfeld, Kevin Schäfer and Claudia Baltrusch, have the plan to found a new AfD parliamentary group in the city parliament. This reports buten and within. The group will be called “Alternative for Germany plus Schäfer and Baltrusch” and aims to increase the influence of individual MPs. One reason for this step is to preserve voting rights in the various committees and the prospect of longer speaking times.

So far there is already an AfD group on the committee, led by Thomas Jürgewitz and Wolfgang Koch. However, Jürgewitz said that the planned merger had little to do with the official AfD, as only Sven Lichtenfeld was elected for the party. He recently left the existing faction, which resulted in the loss of faction status. Lichtenfeld, Schäfer and Baltrusch previously belonged to the “We for Bremerhaven” faction.

Differences in parliamentary operations

The various structures in the Bremerhaven city parliament differ particularly in terms of speaking times and financial support. Political groups receive 15 minutes of speaking time per agenda item, while groups have to make do with 10 minutes and individual representatives with only 5 minutes. Financial aspects also play a role here: parliamentary groups receive a basic monthly amount of around 3,700 euros plus around 600 euros per representative, while groups have to make do without a basic amount, but are entitled to around 600 euros and around 90 euros in addition per representative.

These restructurings could affect not only the speaking times in parliament, but also the financial future of the respective MPs and groups. Nowadays, political support is always accompanied by monetary aspects.

The district association of the AfD in Bremerhaven

The AfD Bremerhaven district association, which is one of three district associations in the Bremen regional association, operates in the background. The district association is committed to the fundamental democratic renewal of the community and attaches great importance to transparency and credibility. The principles of the association are based on grassroots democracy and emphasis is placed on pragmatic solutions. The stated goal is to strengthen individual freedom and an efficient administration that focuses on its core tasks, as stated on the website afd-bremerhaven.com can be read.

It is exciting for the people of Bremerhaven to see how these new developments will affect the political mood and discourse. The upcoming periods will show whether the new parliamentary group actually has a good handle on citizens' concerns or whether the changes will prove to be more symbolic.