Alternative for Germany

Alternative for Germany
Alternative für Deutschland
Abbreviation AfD
Chairperson Frauke Petry
Spokesperson Jörg Meuthen
Founded 6 February 2013
Youth wing Young Alternative for Germany
Membership  (2016) Increase 20,706[1]
Ideology German nationalism[2][3]
Right-wing populism[4]
Euroscepticism[5]
Conservatism[6]
National conservatism[5][7]
Economic liberalism[8]
Anti-Islam[9][10][11]
Political position Right-wing[12][13][14][15]
European affiliation None
European Parliament group EFDD,
ENF
Colours      Light blue
Bundestag
0 / 631
State Parliaments
145 / 1,857
European Parliament
2 / 96
Website
www.alternativefuer.de

The Alternative for Germany (German: Alternative für Deutschland, AfD) is a right-wing populist[16][17][18] and Eurosceptic[19][20][21][22] political party in Germany.

Founded in April 2013, the party won 4.7% of the votes in the 2013 federal election, narrowly missing the 5% electoral threshold to sit in the Bundestag. In 2014 the party won 7.1% of the votes and 7 out of 96 German seats in the European election, and subsequently joined the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group until its exclusion in April 2016. As of September 2016, the AfD had gained representation in ten of the 16 German state parliaments.[23] The party is currently led by Frauke Petry and Jörg Meuthen.

History

Founding 2012–13

In September 2012, Alexander Gauland, a former State Secretary in Hesse, Bernd Lucke, an economist and Konrad Adam, a former editor of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung from 1979 to 2000 and chief correspondent of Die Welt until 2008, founded the political group Electoral Alternative 2013 (German: Wahlalternative 2013) in Bad Nauheim, to oppose German federal policies concerning the eurozone crisis. Their manifesto was endorsed by 68 economists, journalists, and business leaders, half of whom were professors and three-quarters of whom had academic degrees.[24] The group stated that the eurozone had proven to be "unsuitable" as a currency area and that southern European states were "sinking into poverty under the competitive pressure of the euro".[25]

"Wahlalternative 2013" logo

Some members of the later AfD sought election in Lower Saxony as 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.[25][26] In February 2013 the group decided to found a new party to compete in the 2013 federal elections. The Free Voters leadership declined to join forces, according to a leaked email from Bernd Lucke.[27] Advocating the abolition of the Euro, Alternative for Germany (AfD) took a more radical stance than the Free Voters.[28] Likewise, the Pirate Party of Germany opposed any coalition with the AfD at their 2013 spring convention.[29]

Konrad Adam (left), Frauke Petry and Bernd Lucke during the first AfD convention on 14 April 2013 in Berlin

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, who had previously challenged the constitutionality of the German government's eurozone policies at the German Constitutional Court.[30][31]

Second vote share percentage for AfD in the 2013 federal election in Germany, final results
Representations of AfD in the federal states of Germany

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,[32] entrepreneur Frauke Petry and Konrad Adam were elected as speakers.[33] The AfD federal board also chose three deputy speakers, Alexander Gauland, Roland Klaus and Patricia Casale. The party elected treasurer Norbert Stenzel and the three assessors Irina Smirnova, Beatrix Diefenbach and Wolf-Joachim Schünemann. The 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 the AfD founded affiliates in all 16 German states in order to participate in the federal elections. On 15 June 2013 the Young Alternative for Germany was founded in Darmstadt as the AfD's youth organisation.[34] In April 2013, during David Cameron's visit to Germany, the British 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.[35] In June 2013, Bernd Lucke gave a question and answer session organised by the Conservative Party-allied Bruges Group think tank in Portcullis House, London.[36][37] 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 the AfD.[38][39]

The party was created Bernd Lucke, Alexander Gauland and Konrad Adam to confront German-supported bailouts for poorer southern European countries.[40]

2013 federal election

Further information: German federal election, 2013

On 22 September 2013, the AfD won 4.7% of the votes in the 2013 federal election, 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.[41]

2013 state elections

The AfD did not participate in the 2013 Bavaria state election held on 15 September 2013. The AfD gained its first representation in the state parliament of Hesse with the defection of Jochen Paulus from the Free Democratic Party (FDP) to the AfD in early May 2013,[42] who was not re-elected and left office in January 2014.[43] In the 2013 Hesse state election held on 22 September 2013, the same day as the 2013 federal election, the AfD failed to gain representation in the parliament with 4.0% of the vote.

2014 European Parliament election

In early 2014, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled the proposed 3% vote hurdle for representation in the European elections unconstitutional, and the 2014 European Parliament election became the first run in Germany without a barrier for representation.[44]

Former "Mut zur Wahrheit! The Euro splits Europe" tagline on election placard 2013

The 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] the truth" or, more succinctly, "Telling it as it is"),[45] which prompted disagreement among the federal board that the party could be seen as too anti-European. Eventually 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.[46] The conference elected the top six candidates for the European elections on 26 January 2014 and met again the following weekend to choose the remaining euro candidates.[45][46][47] Candidates from 7th–28th place on the party list were selected in Berlin on 1 February.[48] 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 Bernd Lucke and the federal board of AfD opposed, and also with the ECR group, to which the British Conservative Party belongs.[49] In April 2014 Hans-Olaf Henkel, AfD's second candidate on the European election list, ruled out forming a group with UKIP after the 2014 European election.[50] stating that he saw the British Conservatives as the preferred partner in the European Parliament.[50] On 10 May 2014 Bernd Lucke had been in talks with the Czech and Polish member parties of ECR group.[51]

In the 25 May 2014 European election, the AfD came in fifth place in Germany, with 7.1% of the national vote (2,065,162 votes), and 7 members of the EU parliament.[52] On 12 June 2014 it was announced that the AfD had been accepted into the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament.[53] The official vote result was not released to the public, but figures of 29 votes for and 26 against were reported by the membership.[53]

2014 state elections

On 31 August 2014, the AfD scored 9.7% of the vote in the Saxony state election,[54] winning 14 seats in the Landtag of Saxony.[55] and on 14 September 2014 they obtained 10.6% of the vote in the Thuringian and 12.2% in the Brandenburg state election, winning 11 seats in both state parliaments.[56]

2015 state elections

On 15 February 2015 AfD won 6.1% of the vote in the 2015 Hamburg state election, gaining the mandate for 8 seats in the Hamburg Parliament,[57] winning their first seats in a western German state.

On 10 May the AfD secured in the 5.5% of the vote in the Bremen state election, 2015 gaining representation in their 5th state parliament on a 50% turnout.[58]

Petry assumes leadership, Lucke quits

After months of factional infighting and a cancelled party gathering in June 2015, on 4 July 2015 Frauke Petry was elected 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 is a member of the national-conservative faction of the AfD.[59] Her leadership was widely seen as heralding a shift of the party to the right, to focus more on issues such as migration, Islam and strengthening ties to Russia,[60] a shift which was claimed by Lucke as turning the party into a "Pegida party".[61] In the following week, 5 MEPs exited the party on 7 July, the only remaining MEPs being Beatrix von Storch and Marcus Pretzell[62] and on 8 July 2015, Lucke announced that he was resigning from the AfD, citing the rise of xenophobic and pro-Russian sentiments in the party.[63] At a meeting of members of the Wake-up call (Weckruf 2015) group on 19 July 2015, the founder of the AfD Bernd Lucke and former AfD members announced they would form a new party, the Alliance for Progress and Renewal (ALFA, since November 2016 LKR) party under the founding principles of the AfD.[64]

Co-operation with FPÖ and exclusion from ECR group

In February 2016, the AfD announced a cooperation pact with the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ).[65] On 8 March 2016, the bureau of the ECR Group began motions to exclude the AfD from their group due to its links with the far-right FPÖ [66] 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.[67] While MEP Beatrix von Storch left the ECR group on 8 April to join the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group,[68][69] Marcus Pretzell let himself be expelled on 12 April 2016.[70]

2016 state elections

With the migrant debate remaining the dominant national issue, on 13 March 2016 elections held in the three states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt saw the AfD receiving double-digit percentages of the vote in all three states.[71][72] In the 2016 Saxony-Anhalt state election, the AfD reached second place in the Landtag, receiving 24.2% of the vote. In the 2016 Baden-Württemberg state election, the AfD achieved third place with 15.1% of the vote. In the 2016 Rhineland-Palatinate state election, the 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 the AfD who contested at state level for the first time, to claim the second-highest polling with 20.8% of the vote in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election, 2016.[73][74] However AfD voter support in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania appears to have come from both left and right wing parties with support for the SPD down 4.9%, CDU down 4.1%, The Left down 5.2%, Alliance '90/The Greens down 3.9% and support for the National Democratic Party of Germany halved, dropping 3.0%. Rising support for the AfD meant that The Greens and the National Democratic Party of Germany failed to reach the 5% threshold to qualify for seats in the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern so consequently lost their seats. In the Berlin state election, 2016 which the AfD also contested for the first time[75] they achieved a vote of 14.2% making them the fifth largest party represented in the state assembly. Their vote seems to have come equally from the SPD and CDU whose votes declined 6.7% and 5.7% respectively.[76]

2016 party congress

At the party congress held on 30 April to 1 May 2016, the AfD adopted a policy platform based upon opposition to Islam, calling for the ban of Islamic symbols including burkhas, minarets and the call to prayer, using the slogan "Islam is not a part of Germany".[9][10][11]

Ideology and policies

The AfD was founded as a centre-right conservative party of the middle class with a basis on 'soft' Euroscepticism, being generally supportive of Germany's membership of 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.[77][78][79] The party also advocated support for Swiss-style direct democracy, dissolution of the Eurozone, opposition to immigration, and opposed gay marriage.[80]

By May 2015, the party became polarised into two factions, one centred around Lucke and his core economic policies and another group led by Petry, which favoured an anti-immigration approach. The result was a split of Lucke's fraction leaving to found a new party: the Alliance for Progress and Renewal.[81]

Family and equal opportunities

According to its interim electoral manifesto, the party wants to reintroduce the traditional family patterns.[82][83] Die Tageszeitung entitled objectives as 'old gender roles'.[84]

Environment

The party denies anthropogenic factors in the role of global warming. Therefore the party criticizes the energy transformation policies (Energiewende) in Germany; for instance, the party wants to stop "uncontrolled expansion of wind energy".[83]

Conscription

AfD wants a reinstatement of conscription, starting for men at the age of 18.[82][83]

Party finances

Further information: Party finance in Germany

Because the 2013 federal election was the first fought by the party, the AfD had not received any federal funds in the run-up to it,[85] but after receiving 2 million votes it crossed the threshold for party funding and was expected to receive an estimated 1.3 to 1.5 million Euro per year of state subsidies.[86]

European affiliations

Following the 2014 European Parliament elections, on 12 June 2014 the AfD was accepted into the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament.[53]

In February 2016, the AfD announced a closer cooperation with the right-wing populist party Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), which is a member of the Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group.[65] On 8 March 2016, the bureau of the ECR Group began motions to exclude AfD MEPs from their group due to the party's links with the far-right FPÖ and controversial remarks about shooting immigrants.[66][67] While MEP Beatrix von Storch pre-empted her imminent expulsion, leaving the ECR group to join the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group on 8 April,[68][69] Marcus Pretzell let himself be expelled from the ECR group on 12 April 2016.[70] During the AfD party convention on 30 April 2016, Pretzell announced his intention to join the Europe of Nations and Freedom group.[87][88]

Public image

At the outset AfD presented itself as conservative and middle-class,[89] catering to a well-educated demographic as more than two-thirds of its initial supporters held doctorates,[90] giving it the nickname the "professors' party".[91] The party was described as professors and academics who dislike the compromises inflicted on their purist theories by German party politics.[92] 86% of the party's initial supporters were male.[42]

Political extremes

Alternative for Germany party organisers have been sending out the message that they are not trying to attract right-wing radicals.[89] The AfD check applicants for membership to exclude far-right and former National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) members who support the anti-Euro policy (as other mainstream German political parties do).[89][90][93] The party toned down rhetoric on their Facebook page following media allegations that it too closely evoked the language of the far-right.[89][94] Former party chairman Bernd Lucke initially defended the choice of words, citing freedom of opinion, and a right to use "strong words", meanwhile he has also said that "The applause is coming from the wrong side" in regards to praise his party gained from the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD).[89] Outside the Berlin hotel where the party held its inaugural meeting, it has been alleged that copies of Junge Freiheit, a weekly that is also popular with the far-right were being handed out.[95] The Rheinische Post pointed out that some AfD members and supporters write for the conservative paper Junge Freiheit.[38][96] There was also a protest outside the venue of the party’s inaugural meeting by Andreas Storr, an NPD representative in the Landtag of Saxony, as the NPD sees the AfD as a rival for eurosceptic votes.[97]

An investigation conducted by the internet social analytic company Linkfluence showed little to no similarities in Facebook likes of AfD followers and those of the NPD supporter base.[98] AfD members interests tended towards euroscepticism and direct democracy, while NPD supporters showed interests in anti-Islamification, right-wing rock bands and the German military.[98] An evaluation between the hyperlinks included on AFD local party websites also showed few similarities, with the company's German chief-executive stating "The AfD supporter base and the right-wing extremist scene are digitally very far removed from one another"[98] The analysis did point to AfD members favouring links with right-wing populist reactionary conservative content.[98] The AfD's desire to break consensus-based politics and oppose political correctness as undermining freedom of speech, does lend it kudos as a legitimate mouthpiece for right-wing populism among some of the party membership and on regional AfD websites, which contrasts with the intellectual character of the party hierarchy.[98]

Left-wing criticism of the party took a more hardened tone over the late summer 2013, with an array of political activists from far-left anti-fascist anarchists to the mainstream Green Party accusing it of pandering to xenophobic and nationalistic sentiments.[99] This ultimately led to the AfD complaining over incidents of verbal abuse and violence to its campaigners in Berlin, Lübeck, Nuremberg and the university city of Göttingen.[99] Incidents in Göttingen flared after a party conference on 1 August, with police intervening later in the month in an attempted garage arson attack (in which there was said to be a car filled with AfD campaign literature) and to break up a dispute between the AfD and members of the Green Youth.[99] Party leader Bernd Lucke described the events as a "slap in the face for every person who supports democracy" with the party in Lower Saxony left questioning whether to abandon their campaign in the state as local pub and restaurant owners denied the party access to their venues fearing for their businesses.[99]

On 24 August 2013, Lucke and 16 other party members were reported to have been attacked in Bremen by opponents who used pepper spray and pushed Lucke from the stage. Initial reports by party officials and the police suggested that they were left-wing extremists and that about eight out of 20–25 attackers had succeeded in getting on to the stage. It was reported that a campaign worker had been cut with a knife. Later the police indicated that the number of people was probably around 10, of whom only two were known to have gained access to the stage, that only one of the opponents was known to be a left wing activist, and that the minor cut sustained by a campaign worker was probably not caused by a knife and was incurred later when attempting to apprehend a fleeing attacker.[100][101]

Following the German Federal Election 2013 the anti-Islam party Die Freiheit unilaterally pledged to support Alternative for Germany in the 2014 elections and concentrate its efforts on local elections only.[102] Bernd Lucke responded by saying the recommendation was unwelcome and sent a letter to party associations recommending a hiring freeze.[103] Earlier in September, Lucke described the Freedom Party members as coming from two camps, one of extreme Islam critics and populists, the other, ordinary democrats who were joining the AfD.[102] Co-operation with the Freedom Party remains controversial within the ranks of the AfD,[103] with some German state associations conducting vetting interviews with former Freedom Party members.[102] Referring to an initiative for an LGBT specific sex education in elementary school, Petry had asked on her social media presence if homophobia was such a common prejudice among third and fourth grade children, that it would be necessary to confront them with it. An article in the German LGBT magazine Queer interpreted her statement as a demand to protect ″normal" (allegedly referring to heterosexual) families in elementary school.[104]

AfD MEP Beatrix von Storch is a known opponent of same-sex marriage.[105] She has accused school gay youth networks of using "forced sexualization" on their students.

In November 2015, a leading Berlin theatre, the Schaubühne, was brought into legal conflict with members of the AfD over a piece, Falk Richter's FEAR, that parodied them as zombies and mass murderers. AfD vice-president Beatrix von Storch is depicted facing retribution for her grandfather's role as a minister in Hitler's government.[106] AfD Spokesperson, Christian Lüth, responded by interrupting a performance and filming it. Beatrix von Storch, and Conservative spokesperson Hedwig von Beverfoerde, then requested and obtained a preliminary injunction against the theatre, prohibiting it from using images of them in the production. They charged that the images' use violated their human dignity protected under the Constitution.[107] On 15 December 2015, the court ruled against the complainants in favour of the theatre's freedom of expression and lifted the injunctions against using the images. The judges commented that 'any audience member can recognize that this is just a play'.[108]

In January 2016, Frauke Petry argued for the possibility of shooting refugees at the borders to Germany. She did this twice but denied it and claimed that the press lied about her statement. Rhein-Zeitung then offered the audio-recording of the interview in which she advocates firing on refugees.[109]

PEGIDA

In response to the PEGIDA movement and demonstrations, members of AfD have expressed different views, with Lucke describing the movement as "a sign that these people do not feel their concerns are understood by politicians."[110] In response to the CDU Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere alleging an "overlap" between PEGIDA rallies and the AfD, Alexander Gauland stated that the AfD are "natural allies of this movement".[111] However, Hans-Olaf Henkel asked members of the party not to join the demonstrations, telling Der Tagesspiegel that he believed it could not be ruled out that they had "xenophobic or even racist connotations".[110] A straw poll by The Economist found that nine out of ten PEGIDA protesters would back the AfD.[112]

Junge Alternative youth organisation

The Young Alternative for Germany (German: Junge Alternative für Deutschland or JA), was founded in 2013 as the youth organisation of the AfD, while remaining legally independent from its mother party.[34]

Tables of election results

Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
Election year No. of
constituency votes
No. of
party list votes
% of
party list votes
No. of
overall seats won
+/–
2013 810,915 2,056,985 4.7
0 / 631
European Parliament
Election year No. of
overall votes
% of overall vote
& ranking
No. of
overall seats won
+/–
2014 2,070,014 7.1 (#5)
7 / 96
State Parliament (Landtag)
State election, year No. of
overall votes
% of overall vote
& ranking
No. of
overall seats won
+/–
Hesse, 2013 126,906 4.1 (#6)
0 / 110
Saxony, 2014 159,611 9.7 (#4)
14 / 126
Thuringia, 2014 99,548 10.6 (#4)
11 / 91
Brandenburg, 2014 119,989 12.2 (#4)
11 / 88
Hamburg, 2015 214,833 6.1 (#6)
8 / 121
Bremen, 2015 64,368 5.5 (#6)
5 / 83
Baden-Württemberg, 2016 809,311 15.1 (#3)
23 / 143
Rhineland-Palatinate, 2016 267,813 12.6 (#3)
14 / 101
Saxony-Anhalt, 2016 271,646 24.4 (#2)
25 / 87
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 2016 167,453 20.8 (#2)
18 / 71
Berlin, 2016 231,325 14.2 (#5)
25 / 160

References

  1. "AfD Kompakt 03/2016" (PDF). AfD. 18 May 2016.
  2. "After migrants, German nationalist party takes aim at Islam". Yahoo News. 23 May 2016.
  3. "Germany's Nationalist Party Set for Gains as Three States Vote". Voice of America. 11 March 2016.
  4. "Germany's populist AfD: from anti-euro to anti-migrant". france24.com. France 24. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Parties and Election in Europe". 2014.
  6. "Alternative for Germany's New Leader Promises Closer Ties With Russia". 5 July 2015.
  7. Simon Franzmann (2015). "The Failed Struggle for Office Instead of Votes". In Gabriele D'Ottavio; Thomas Saalfeld. Germany After the 2013 Elections: Breaking the Mould of Post-Unification Politics?. Ashgate. pp. 166–167. ISBN 978-1-4724-4439-4.
  8. Lees, Charles (2015). "The AfD: what kind of alternative for Germany?" (PDF). Political Studies Association: 10–11.
  9. 1 2 Ruth Bender (1 May 2016). "Germany's AfD Adopts Anti-Islam Stance at Party Conference". WSJ.
  10. 1 2 "Germany's AfD party adopts anti-Islamic manifesto". Financial Times.
  11. 1 2 Tina Bellon (1 May 2016). "Anti-immigrant AfD says Muslims are not welcome in Germany". The Independent.
  12. Germany's right-wing AfD party surges to new high amid concern over refugees.
    'Germany’s eurosceptic right-wing party has hit a new all-time high in the opinion polls as concern about migration rises in the country'.
    Independent. Author – Jon Stone. Published 13 January 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  13. Right-wing German party Alternative for Germany adopts anti-Islam policy.
    'The right-wing Alternative for Germany party declared that "Islam does not belong in Germany" as it passed its new party manifesto on Sunday'.
    Author – Anne-Beatrice Clasmann.
    The Sydney Morning Herald. Published 2 May 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  14. Germany AfD conference: party adopts anti-Islam policy.
    'The German right-wing party Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) has adopted an explicitly anti-Islam policy'.
    BBC News. Published 1 May 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  15. New poll shows Alternative for Germany gaining support.
    'The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) has garnered some of its best numbers yet in a nationwide poll'.
    Deutsche Welle. Author - Brandon Conradis. Published 23 September 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  16. Frank Decker (2015). "Follow-up to the Grand Coalition: The Germany Party System before and after the 2013 Federal Election". In Eric Langenbacher. The Merkel Republic: An Appraisal. Berghahn Books. pp. 34–39. ISBN 978-1-78238-896-8.
  17. Hans-Jürgen Bieling (2015). "Uneven development and 'European crisis constitutionalism', or the reasons for and conditions of a 'passive revolution in trouble'". In Johannes Jäger; Elisabeth Springler. Asymmetric Crisis in Europe and Possible Futures: Critical Political Economy and Post-Keynesian Perspectives. Routledge. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-317-65298-4.
  18. Egbert Jahn (2015). German Domestic and Foreign Policy: Political Issues Under Debate -. Springer. p. 30. ISBN 978-3-662-47929-2.
  19. Tom Lansford, ed. (2014). Political Handbook of the World 2014. SAGE Publications. p. 532. ISBN 978-1-4833-3327-4.
  20. Kemal Dervis; Jacques Mistral (2014). "Overview". In Kemal Dervis; Jacques Mistral. Europe's Crisis, Europe's Future. Brookings Institution Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-8157-2554-1.
  21. Robert Ladrech (2014). "Europeanization of National Politics: the centrality of politics parties". In José M. Magone. Routledge Handbook of European Politics. Routledge. p. 580. ISBN 978-1-317-62836-1.
  22. William T. Daniel (2015). Career Behaviour and the European Parliament: All Roads Lead Through Brussels?. Oxford University Press. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-19-871640-2.
  23. "Angela Merkel's party suffers election drubbing in 25-year low". 18 September 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  24. Wahlalternative 2013 (n.d.). "Gründer und Hauptzeichner (Founders and signatories)". Retrieved 17 February 2015. de:Peter Christ, de:Bruno Bandulet, de:Ursula Braun-Moser, de:Ulrich Blum, de:Günter Ederer, de:Wolfgang von Eichborn, de:Dieter Farwick, de:Herbert Frohnhofen, de:Carola Groppe, de:Gernot Gutmann, Hans-Olaf Henkel, Carsten Herrmann-Pillath, de:Stefan Homburg, de:Daniel Koerfer, de:Jörn Kruse, de:Hermann von Laer, de:Helga Luckenbach, de:Dirk Meyer (Ökonom), de:Peter Oberender, de:Derk-Hayo Reimers, de:Karl Albrecht Schachtschneider, de:Dieter Spethmann, de:Michael Stahl (Althistoriker), de:Joachim Starbatty, Beatrix von Storch, de:Roland Vaubel, de:Uwe Woltemath
  25. 1 2 Lachmann, Günther (3 March 2013). "Anti-Euro-Partei geißelt die Politik der Kanzlerin" [Anti-euro party lashes out at politics of Chancellor Merkel]. Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 2 May 2013. "Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland ist in der schwersten Krise ihrer Geschichte. Das Euro-Währungsgebiet hat sich als ungeeignet erwiesen. Südeuropäische Staaten verarmen unter dem Wettbewerbsdruck des Euro. Ganze Staaten stehen am Rande der Zahlungsunfähigkeit." [The Federal Republic of Germany is in the gravest crisis of its history. The euro currency area has shown itself to be unfit for purpose. Countries in southern Europe are sinking into poverty under the competitive pressure of the euro. Whole countries are on the brink of bankruptcy.]
  26. Frymark, Kamil (10 April 2013). "German Euro-sceptics to establish a political party". CeWeekly: The Centre for Eastern Studies (Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich). Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  27. "Here comes ... the German Anti-Euro Party". Open Europe (Think Tank) Blog. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  28. Pop, Valentina (12 March 2013). "New anti-euro party forms in Germany". euobserver.com. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  29. Scholz, Kay-Alexander (13 May 2013). "German Pirate Party in uncharted waters". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  30. Czuczka, Tony (4 March 2013). "German Euro Foes to Found Party in Merkel Election Challenge". Bloomberg.
    Winand von Petersdorff-Campen (4 March 2013). "Die neue Anti-Euro-Partei". Frankfurter Allgemeine (in German).
  31. Matthew Boesler, "A small band of German professors is the hottest new threat to the future of the Euro," Business Insider (4 March 2013).
  32. "Southern Europe out of euro says Alternative For Germany". BBC Daily Politics. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  33. Jahn, Joachim (14 April 2013). "Aufstand gegen Merkels "alternativlose Politik"". FAZ (in German).
    Vasagar, Jeevan (14 April 2013). "1,000 Germans abandon Angela Merkel for Eurosceptic party". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  34. 1 2 "Bernd Lucke und die wilde Jugend" (in German). N24. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  35. Tories build secret alliance with Eurosceptics behind Merkel's back, The Daily Telegraph, UK, 12 April 2013.
  36. "Bernd Lucke sets out his alternative for Germany and the EU". Open Europe Blog. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  37. "Germany and the euro — with Professor Bernd Lucke". The Bruges Group. Archived from the original on 13 June 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  38. 1 2 Weinthal, Benjamin (3 May 2013). "The Rise of Germany's Tea Party". Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  39. Sattar, Majid (27 April 2013). ""Alternative für Deutschland" Gegnerbeobachtung". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  40. "Why AFD was created". BBC World news. 4 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  41. "German Euroskeptic Party AFD Could Unravel After Election – SPIEGEL ONLINE". Spiegel.de. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  42. 1 2 Paulick, Jane (5 May 2013). "German Euro-Skeptic Party Gaining Ground". Spiegel Online International: German Election Blog. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  43. Marcus Janz (10 March 2014). "Ex-Abgeordneter fehlte acht Monate im Landtag – keine Sanktionen". Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  44. Demuth, Norbert (26 February 2014). "Germany's top court scraps 3 percent vote threshold for EU poll". Reuters. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  45. 1 2 Benzow, Gregg (26 January 2014). "Germany's euroskeptic party revamps its image". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  46. 1 2 Lachmann, Günther (26 January 2014). "Wie die AfD ihr inhaltliches Vakuum füllen will". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  47. Czygan, Michael (26 January 2014). "Die Alternative für Deutschland nominiert in Aschaffenburg Kandidaten für Europa". Main Post (in German). Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  48. "Unsere Kandidaten für Europa" (in German). Alternative für Deutschland. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  49. Marsh, Sarah (13 February 2014). "German anti-euro party says won't team up with xenophobes". Reuters. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  50. 1 2 Waterfield, Bruno (24 April 2014). "EU elections: German Eurosceptics snub 'ridiculous' Ukip". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  51. Barker, Alex (11 May 2014). "David Cameron's European Parliament group fights for survival". The Financial Times. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  52. Der Bundeswahlleiter (n.d.). "Endgültiges Ergebnis der Europawahl 2014".
  53. 1 2 3 Nicolaou, Anna; Barker, Luke (12 June 2014). "Anti-euro German AfD joins Cameron's EU parliament group". Reuters. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  54. "Landtagswahl 2014" (in German). Free State of Saxony. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  55. Torry, Harriet (31 August 2014). "Alternative for Germany Party Takes Its First Seats in a State Parliament". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  56. "Anti-euro party makes big leap in Thuringia, Brandenburg state elections". Deutsche Welle. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  57. Exner, Ulrich; Sturm, Daniel Friedrich (15 February 2015). "Wer bei Scholz Führung bestellt, wird sie bekommen". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  58. "Setback for SPD after narrow win in Bremen". Deutsche Welle. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  59. "Germany's euroskeptic AfD elects conservative leader Petry". Deutsche Welle. 4 July 2015.
  60. "Alternative for Germany's New Leader Promises Closer Ties With Russia". Sputnik. 5 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  61. Schneider, Jens (6 July 2015). "Lucke und der Auszug der Gemäßigten" (in German). Süddeutsche Zeitung. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  62. "Nach "Richtungsentscheidung" AfD meldet Hunderte Austritte" (in German). N-TV. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  63. Barkin, Noah (8 July 2015). "German AfD founder leaves party decrying xenophobic shift". Reuters. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  64. "Ousted chief of Germany's euroskeptic AfD sets up new political party". Deutsche Welle. 19 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  65. 1 2 Deutsche AfD und FPÖ beschließen Zusammenarbeit (in German). Der Standard. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  66. 1 2 Crisp, James. "AfD links to Austrian far-right 'final straw' for ECR MEPs –". Euractiv.com. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  67. 1 2 Peter Teffer (9 March 2016). "EU parliament group tells German AfD party to leave". EU Observer. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  68. 1 2 Peter Teffer (8 April 2016). "Right-wing German MEP quits parliament group". EU Observer. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  69. 1 2 "German AfD lawmaker joins eurosceptic group in European Parliament". Europe online. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  70. 1 2 "German AfD lawmaker evicted from conservative group in EU legislature". Europe online. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  71. Philip Oltermann (13 March 2016). "Anti-refugee AfD party makes big gains in German state elections". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  72. "Landtagswahlen 2016: Die sechs Datenanalysen zur Wahl". SPIEGEL ONLINE. 14 March 2016.
  73. "Right-wing AfD beats Merkel party in regional elections – exit polls". RT. 4 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  74. Associated Press (4 September 2016). "Nationalists overtake Merkel's party in German state vote | Fox News". foxnews.com. Retrieved 5 September 2016. The three-year-old Alternative for Germany, or AfD, won 21 to 22 percent of votes in the election for the state legislature in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, according to projections for ARD and ZDF television based on exit polls and partial counting. They put support for Merkel's Christian Democrats between 19 and 20 percent, their worst result yet in the state.
  75. "Anti-migrant AfD makes Berlin breakthrough, as Merkel's CDU slumps". RT. 18 September 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  76. "Berlin 2016". 19 September 2016.
  77. Stijn van Kessel (2015). Populist Parties in Europe: Agents of Discontent?. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 61–62. ISBN 978-1-137-41411-3.
  78. Wayne C. Thompson (2014). Nordic, Central, and Southeastern Europe 2014. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 283. ISBN 978-1-4758-1224-4.
  79. Lee McGowan; David Phinnemore (2015). A Dictionary of the European Union. Taylor & Francis. pp. 23–24. ISBN 978-1-317-44515-9.
  80. Wayne C. Thompson, ed. (2015). Nordic, Central, and Southeastern Europe 2015–2016. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 246. ISBN 978-1-4758-1883-3.
  81. "AfD chief Lucke denies plans to split the party". Deutsche Welle. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  82. 1 2 "Alternative für Deutschland Zurück zur Wehrpflicht". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 9 March 2016. ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  83. 1 2 3 "Grundsatzprogramm Alternative für Deutschland" (PDF) (in German). Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  84. "Entwurf für AfD-Programm: Neue Asylpolitik, alte Genderrollen". die tageszeitung. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  85. Petterdorff-Campen, Winand von (21 April 2013). ""Alternative für Deutschland" Haste mal 'ne Mark?" (in German). Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  86. Verzählt – Nachschlag für die AfD in Frankfurt (in German, Subsidies for AfD). Die Welt. 28 September 2013
  87. "German AfD lawmaker to align with faction of France's National Front".
  88. "AfD: EU-Abgeordneter Pretzell wechselt zur Front-National-Fraktion". ZEIT ONLINE. 30 April 2016.
  89. 1 2 3 4 5 Wittrock, Philipp (12 April 2013). "The Know-It-All Party: Anti-Euro 'Alternative for Germany' Launches". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  90. 1 2 Nicholas Kulish and Melissa Eddy, German elites drawn to anti-Euro party, spelling trouble for Merkel The New York Times (15 April 2013)
  91. Connelly, Kate (14 April 2013). "Leading German economist calls for dissolution of eurozone to save EU". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  92. Scally, Derek (13 April 2013). "Upstart political party challenges Germany's consensus on the euro". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  93. Alexander, Harriet; Jeevan Vasagar (7 April 2013). "Bernd Lucke interview: 'Why Germany has had enough of the euro'". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  94. Alling, Daniel (13 March 2013). "Nytt eurokritiskt parti i Tyskland". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  95. Barkin, Noah (14 April 2013). "Analysis: Don't underestimate Germany's new anti-euro party". Reuters. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  96. Mayntz, Gregor (24 April 2013). "AfD hat schon fast 10.000 Mitglieder". Rheinische Post (in German). Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  97. Schneider, Theo. "Neo-Nazis rally against Alternative for Germany party congress". demotix.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  98. 1 2 3 4 5 Heine, Friederike. "Popular with Populists: Euroskeptic Party Attracts Right Wing". Der Speigel. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  99. 1 2 3 4 Heine, Friederike (14 August 2013). "Hard Knocks for Anti-Euro Party". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  100. "Angriff auf AfD-Chef übertrieben dargestellt".
  101. "Polizei relativiert Angaben zu Angriff auf AfD" (in German). 6 September 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  102. 1 2 3 Hebel, Christina (1 October 2013). ""Die Freiheit": Anti-Islam-Partei will sich der AfD anschließen". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  103. 1 2 Leber, Fabian (1 October 2013). "Alternative für Deutschland und "Die Freiheit" Islamkritiker empfehlen jetzt die AfD". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  104. dk (19 February 2015). ""Frauke Petry will an Schulen die "normale" Familie schützen"". queer.de (in German). Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  105. Philip Oltermann. "Liberals quit Alternative for Germany party as it embraces a domestic agenda". The Guardian.
  106. "Aufregung um Theaterstück. AfD Populisten wollen keine Zombies sein". Süddeutsche Zeitung.
  107. "Fear siegt ueber die Angst von AfD und Pegida". Tagespiele.
  108. "AfD Unterliegt im Zombie Streit". Handelsblatt.
  109. Hartmut Wagner for the Rhein-Zeitung. 4 February 2016 Lügenpresse? AfD-Chefin Frauke Petry schreibt ihr Interview dreist um.
  110. 1 2 Huggler, Justin (10 December 2014). "German Eurosceptics embrace anti-Islam protests". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  111. Withnall, Adam (15 December 2014). "Germany sees 'visible rise' in support for far-right extremism in response to perceived 'Islamisation' of the West". The Independent. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  112. "Gone boy on the right: How an anti-foreigner, anti-establishment group is changing German politics". The Economist. Retrieved 2016-11-02.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alternative for Germany.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.