Alternative Mitte

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Alternative Mitte
FormationJuly 2017
TypeFaction within AfD
Legal statusActive
Purposecampaigning
Location
Official language
German
Parent organization
Alternative for Germany

The Alternative Mitte (

political association within the Alternative for Germany party which was formed in 2017 and presents itself as "liberal patriotic" and "conservative." It has been described by commentators as being founded as a counterweight and a response to the more hardline Der Flügel wing of the AfD.[1]

History

In July 2017, a coalition formed within the AfD who took a critical view of rising voices within the party such as that of the Thuringian state spokesman and parliamentary group leader

far-right extremist movement and that a vocal minority should not be allowed to dominate the party's external perception.[2]

The formation of the group was welcomed by former AfD chairwoman Frauke Petry and AfD national board member Dirk Driesang, who argued the party would not find peace unless there was an answer to the Der Flügel faction and networking was done to attract intellectual and middle class conservatives back to the AfD in order to strengthen Germany as a whole.[3][4] In September 2017, the association branched out into Saxony-Anhalt, Hesse, Lower Saxony and Thuringia. The founder of Thuringia wing Helmut Witter argued that the party needed to focus on issues such as freedom of speech, law & order and the European Union while distancing itself from the Identitarian movement.[5][6][7]

The AM was officiated nationwide in October 2017 in a meeting of around 200 AfD members in

liberal-conservative parts of the party, for talks between the camps, remembering the "historical responsibility from the Nazi era," support for Israel and observing red lines on extremism.[8][9][10]

The AM published an open letter to members and federal delegates of the AfD in which they warned against electing people to the federal executive board who do not respect liberal democratic basic order in Germany.[11]

In February 2018, the AM planned a rally in

left-wing activists.[12][13]

In March 2018, the group called on AfD to formally reject any collaboration between the party and

Reception

Journalist and author Matthias Kamann saw AM as an attempt to give those in the AfD a platform "who want it to be hard conservative, but factual - not ethnic or insulting. The fact that this voice has been missing so far is one of the many weaknesses of the party."

Goetz Kubitschek and rejects the integration of PEGIDA and the Identitarian Movement into the AfD.[8][16]

Writing in Frankfurter Rundschau political analyst and journalist Pitt von Bebenburg described the AM's objective as "preserving the nation state within secure borders and thus the local homeland," but rejecting "nationalism, revisionism, totalitarianism or a cult of personality that rises above others."[17]

Notable people associated with AM

References

  1. ^ "AfD".
  2. ^ Kamann, Matthias (July 23, 2017). ""Alternative Mitte": In der AfD wächst ein zartes Pflänzchen der Mäßigung". Die Welt – via www.welt.de.
  3. ^ a b Matthias Kamann: In der AfD wächst ein zartes Pflänzchen der Mäßigung, WeltN24, 23 July 2017.
  4. ^ Tilman Steffen: AfD: Die letzte Barriere, Zeit online, 19 July 2017.
  5. ^ Die AfD zeigt sich von zwei Seiten, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 2 September 2017.
  6. ^ Maria Fiedler: In der AfD formiert sich Widerstand gegen Höckes "Flügel", Tagesspiegel, 9 September 2017.
  7. ^ Kontra Höcke-Gauland: "Alternative Mitte" in der AfD Thüringen gegründet Archived 2018-02-19 at the Wayback Machine, thüringen24.de, 2 September 2017.
  8. ^ a b Tilman Steffen: Alternative, aber anders, Zeit, 4 October 2017.
  9. ^ a b Alan Posener: Diese Geste finden "gemäßigte" AfDler verfassungsfeindlich, WeltN24, 3 October 2017.
  10. ^ Sabine Am Orde: "Alternative Mitte" gegen "Flügel", taz, 6 October 2017.
  11. ^ Offener Brief an die Mitglieder und Bundesdelegierten der AfD Archived 2018-02-19 at the Wayback Machine, Alternative Mitte, 22 October 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  12. ^ AfD sagt Tagung in Paderborn ab, Westfalenblatt, 24 February 2018.
  13. ^ Matthias Schwarzer: AfD sagt Treffen in Paderborn endgültig ab, Neue Westfälische, 24 February 2018.
  14. ^ Sebastian Hesse: AfD ringt um Verhältnis zu Pegida, MDR, 2 March 2018.
  15. ^ Konrad Litschko: Richtungskampf in der AfD: Angriff auf die "Mitte", taz, 26 October 2017.
  16. ^ Tilman Steffen: Alternative Mitte: Irgendwie weg vom "Igitt-Faktor", Zeit online, 23 April 2018
  17. ^ Pitt von Bebenburg: Hessen-AfD droht der "Alternativen Mitte", Frankfurter Rundschau, 23 October 2017.