At the party conference, the AfD is airing its power struggles in public. And Alice Weidel is demonstrating just how far her influence now extends.

Up on the party conference stage in Erfurt, in full view of everyone, Alice Weidel has to reach for her mobile phone. Her candidate for the AfD federal executive board is at risk of failing to win the election for treasurer; two rounds of voting have already proved unsuccessful. If he loses, the position would go to the incumbent treasurer—a man from the camp of her co-chair, Tino Chrupalla. Weidel is determined not to let that happen.

Infighting is once again rife within the far-right AfD, even though Weidel and Chrupalla publicly claim otherwise. The networks rallying behind either Weidel or Chrupalla are vying for power and positions. For months, they have been preparing for the Erfurt federal party conference behind the scenes.

Weidel’s supporters—the so-called Münzenmaier network centered around deputy parliamentary group leader Sebastian Münzenmaier—are intent on pushing through their agenda and placing their own people in key roles. A treasurer has insight into all financial matters, making it a crucial position. The role is slated for Hannes Gnauck, the man who led the party’s youth organization and reformed it in line with the wishes of Weidel’s supporters.

"Don't listen to the whisperers"

Carsten Hütter—Chrupalla’s ally, a fellow Saxon, and the long-serving treasurer—actually wanted to keep the job and launched his bid with a combative speech. "Don’t listen to those networks, don’t listen to the whisperers; listen to your gut," he called out to the delegates. He added: "When the going gets tough, you bring out the old workhorse, not the young show horse."

This drew loud applause and earned Hütter 49.6 percent of the vote in the first round—twenty votes more than Gnauck. A murmur rippled through the hall, a stir of movement, followed by a runoff: suddenly, Weidel’s preferred candidate was in the lead, though only by a single vote. That was the moment Weidel reached for her phone. She called Münzenmaier, who was already busy circulating through the hall and negotiating—including with Ansgar Schledde, the Lower Saxony state chairman and a Chrupalla loyalist.

Then came the third round of voting. And sure enough, Weidel’s man ultimately won—securing twenty votes more than his rival, even though there were only nine additional people present in the hall. Was there a deal? No one will confirm it. Yet, they offer no other explanation for the change of heart among at least ten delegates.

Weidel has a firm grip on the party conference.

Either way, the case demonstrates that Weidel and her network have a firm grip on the party conference; the treasurer’s post remains the only personnel matter that is proving difficult. Hütter failed to secure even the role of deputy treasurer—that position, too, went to someone from the Münzenmaier network. Meanwhile, in the surrounding votes, several of her candidates prevailed over those backed by Chrupalla’s network.

This was also evident in the results for the party leaders themselves. Weidel achieved the stronger result with 81.3 percent of the vote, whereas Chrupalla had to settle for 70 percent—significantly less than at the previous party conference. This outcome was something Weidel’s camp had specifically aimed for beforehand.

Weidel likely welcomes the result for another reason, too: at the party conference in Essen two years ago, Chrupalla had garnered more votes than she did. At the time, Weidel’s camp suspected there had been a campaign urging delegates to vote against her—one fueled by Tino Chrupalla. He denies this, but her camp remains unconvinced to this day. Some vowed revenge back then, and now the moment had arrived.

Multiple contested elections

Moreover, many within the party felt that Chrupalla had not always made the best moves in recent months. Consequently, power struggles persisted, even though the AfD had been trying for months to avoid airing conflicts in public—if only out of concern that voters in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania might hold it against them.

Yet, several contested races did play out in Erfurt. Sven Tritschler—an ally of Alice Weidel—ran against Kay Gottschalk, who is closer to the Chrupalla camp. Gottschalk, a party stalwart holding membership number 75, had long served on the executive board; Tritschler had not, yet he won. He did so despite the pre-convention circulation of material intended to compromise him—a mudslinging match that continued on stage.

The two launched sharp attacks on one another: Gottschalk made an issue of his opponent’s lack of vocational training, while Tritschler accused his rival of dishonesty, claiming that Gottschalk’s call for "remigration" was motivated solely by strategy. The term refers to a concept involving the mass deportation and displacement of all those who, according to right-wing extremist ideology, do not belong to the German people. Gottschalk had recently flown to an event hosted by the *völkisch* "Identitarian Movement" to discuss the topic. In the end, Tritschler won.

Höcke also successful

In the smoking area, open infighting is causing frustration: "As if we didn't have enough enemies out there," says a prominent AfD figure. "Now we’re fighting each other inside the hall, too."

Gradually, the situation shifted. Peter Boehringer, for instance—who had stated on Friday that he intended to run even if there were a female challenger—suddenly withdrew. He is being replaced by Katrin Ebner-Steiner, the party’s Bavarian parliamentary group leader, who is considered a close ally of Weidel and Thuringia state chairman Björn Höcke. She had announced her bid for the post just days earlier and secured the backing of the Bavarian state executive board.

Höcke’s confidant Stefan Möller also made it onto the federal executive board, garnering 77 percent of the vote while running unopposed. He is expected to handle the party's stance regarding the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (domestic intelligence agency). That approach is likely to change drastically: Roman Reusch, who previously held this portfolio, was viewed as cautious and frequently advocated for expulsion proceedings against members deemed too radical. Möller, by contrast, has no intention of taking cues from the intelligence agency; instead, he prefers to close ranks.

Höcke’s camp and the Münzenmaier network have been closely coordinating for some time. "An uncanny alliance—one that really shouldn't exist," a member of the former federal executive board told *Der Spiegel*—a person who, unsurprisingly, belongs to the Chrupalla network.

This alliance paid off for Höcke in yet another way this time around. Alice Weidel personally took the microphone that morning to explain that he and his allies were right on one point. It concerned a motion they had introduced to "reform" the so-called incompatibility list.

Höcke appeared satisfied.

The list includes several hundred right-wing extremist organizations. Höcke sought to effectively abolish the regulations for any organization that does not explicitly advocate violence, and to introduce a statute of limitations. Under the proposal, someone who was a member of the neo-Nazi NPD ten years ago, for instance, would still be permitted to join the party. While this is currently possible, it requires the state executive committee to approve admission by a two-thirds majority; the aim is to make this step unnecessary in the future.

In Erfurt, Weidel promised that the federal executive committee would "naturally address" the list—adding that this should have been done long ago. Höcke and his associates were satisfied with this assurance and withdrew the motion. Weidel smiled.

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Article translated by Google Translate, mistakes are my own. For those that prefer the untranslated text: https://archive.fo/qC6Kd.