The big loser in the race for the top duo of the AfD is called: Jörg Meuthen. The AfD party leader did not even run and does not want to join the Bundestag. But it was his declared goal to prevent a top duo of parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel and co-party leader Tino Chrupalla in the federal elections. The two are supported by the officially dissolved, right-wing extremist “wing” in the AfD.
Meuthen had gambled and initially campaigned for the member survey. He must have realized too late that he can control the result of a primary election much less than a vote on the top duo at the federal party convention. And his later plan to install a cross-flow duo made up of his allies Joana Cotar and the master painter Chrupalla has also failed. In the end it was Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla.
Weidel and Chrupalla have come to terms with the “wing”
You have to be careful when interpreting the result: Chrupalla and Weidel are much better known than the opposing duo from Cotar and the former Lieutenant General Joachim Wundrak. Many in the AfD should be clear that Weidel and Chrupalla pull more in the election campaign.
Nevertheless, from the choice of the two, approval can be read for something that the AfD calls an “integrating course”. Instead of demarcating themselves from the right wing, the extremist “wing” around Björn Höcke is accepted as an important part of the party. Weidel and Chrupalla have – unlike opposing candidate Joana Cotar – come to terms with the “wing”. Björn Höcke and Co have nothing to fear from them. Chrupalla, in particular, is not a fan of party exclusion proceedings. And a large part of the members apparently thinks it’s a good thing. A more moderate demeanor, as Cotar and Wundrak have promised, do not seem to be necessary for many at the AfD base.
Everything is now in it for Weidel
For party leader Meuthen, this vote now casts unpleasant shadows. A new federal board will be elected in November. Then Höcke and his allies want to overthrow Meuthen. If the AfD gets a good result in the federal election, Chrupalla and Weidel could be elected as a new duo to head the AfD.
The comeback of Alice Weidel is remarkable. Politically, she has already been said dead several times: because of her donation affair and above all because of the alleged lack of leadership in the parliamentary group. The vote of the members created a new legitimation for them. The leadership of the next parliamentary group, the leadership of the AfD: Everything is now possible for Weidel – at least as long as it has the support of the “wing”.
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