Chaos at the AfD citizens' dialogue in Goslar: disputes and protests escalate!

Chaos at the AfD citizens' dialogue in Goslar: disputes and protests escalate!

There has been a lot going on around the AfD in the last few days, especially at its citizen dialogues. Particularly noteworthy is a planned dialogue in Goslar, which had to be canceled abruptly. As the taz reported, Maximilian Krah, AfD member of the Bundestag, and co-speaker Mike Moncsek canceled the event at short notice. The reason for this cancellation was probably the restless atmosphere that prevailed in front of the hall, where loud demonstrations against Krah were taking place.

The whole thing took on unexpected dimensions when the AfD district association chairman Main Müller did not allow half of his board of directors into the hall. Bundestag member Micha Fehre criticized this approach as undemocratic and called on Müller to face the allegations. The civil dialogue itself quickly developed into a heated argument, accompanied by shouting, accusations and insults. The YouTuber Sebastian Weber captured the conflict with his camera and bit the people arguing even more.

Dispute and division within the AfD

The spectators were stunned by the apparently unprofessional culture of debate. Several people wondered how the AfD planned to attract new members in such circumstances. The content of the argument remained vague. Müller spoke of fake emails and audio documents, while his opponents reported over 1,000 pages of evidence. Another sensitive issue was Müller's invitation to Björn Höcke, which was made without consulting the state board. This led to a distancing and a unanimous decision by the Lower Saxony state executive board to exclude Müller from the association conference. In addition, an incendiary letter from half of the board was directed against Müller and called for an arbitration tribunal.

The tensions within the AfD are therefore remarkable. The state board has already sent a representative to the event, which further inflamed the situation. At the time of going to press, there was no statement from the AfD district executive about the causes of the dispute, which increased speculation about a possible split in the regional association. Fehre warned that such a split could have a significant impact on the AfD in Lower Saxony. The state executive committee disapproved of the behavior of everyone involved and is examining party regulatory measures.

Protests against the AfD

These problems are not the only ones facing the AfD. On September 29th, Björn Höcke was supposed to take part in a citizens' discussion in Jena. But the anti-fascists also had a say here: around 2,000 people demonstrated to prevent Höcke's appearance. The police had to use pepper spray and batons to break up sit-ins. Ultimately, Höcke's appearance was canceled for security reasons, and the event ended early, as t online reported.

The AfD is currently facing high waves of protests that accompanied the citizens' dialogue in Halberstadt, Saxony-Anhalt, on Thursday. While around 200 guests discussed in the Spiegelsberge guesthouse, there were 145 counter-demonstrators in the parking lot. According to that Day24 The protest was registered by the Halberstadt Alliance for Democracy, which suspects that such citizen dialogues could serve as a platform for neo-Nazis.

The situation surrounding the AfD remains tense. The discussions and conflicts within the party, coupled with the broad front of protests, show that the political future prospects are uncertain. State political elections are just around the corner in Thuringia, and the AfD could emerge as the potentially strongest force there. The current surveys indicate an approval rate of around 30 percent, while the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies the AfD in Thuringia as definitely right-wing extremist. It remains to be seen how things will develop further.