Forever opposition? AfD country chief Martin Reichardt does not want that. He believes government participation is possible and rejects allegations of a lack of differentiation from the right.
Magdeburg (dpa/sa) – Saxony-Anhalt’s AfD state leader Martin Reichardt believes it is possible that his party could work together with the CDU or FDP at the federal or state level. “We have to keep working solidly, we have to consolidate the party. If we succeed, the doors will also open for government participation,” said Reichardt of the German Press Agency. It also took some time for other parties, such as the Greens, to become part of a coalition.
Reichardt, who was also elected to the party executive in mid-June, sees the greatest intersections in terms of content in the CDU and FDP. “I also see it that the political intersections between us and the Union are greater than between the Union and the Greens.”
Currently, “the entire political establishment has formed a united front” against the AfD. But at the local level it is different. “In the local parliaments, people already work together locally, so there’s no need to fool yourself. The votes are very factual and our motions are also accepted.”
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution has now classified the entire party as a suspected right-wing extremist. Reichardt rejects allegations that the AfD does not clearly enough differentiate itself from the right. “We distance ourselves from any form of extremism much more clearly than other parties,” he said. “We have already excluded numerous people. Where has this ever been the case with the SPD, the Left or the Greens because they made statements in a left-wing extremist manner? On the contrary, there are even ministers at federal and state level with clear links to left-wing extremism. ” Left-wing extremism is socially acceptable in Germany.
Reichardt described the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as an “instrumentalised authority”. He said: “If there is a functioning constitutional state in Germany, then we cannot be banned. We are not doing anything that would justify such a ban.”
The member of the Bundestag has been head of the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt since 2018. At the end of August, the AfD wants to elect a new state executive in Saxony-Anhalt at a party conference. Reichardt has already announced that he will apply again for the state presidency.
