""Such meetings are not only directed externally at the public, but also internally within the party," Hillje told DW. "Therefore, they are a maneuver in a power struggle within the party which is taking place primarily between the eastern German state branches and the federal party leadership." While AfD leadership at the federal level is oriented more toward moderation, the AfD's regional associations in eastern Germany lean toward radicalism."
"The branches of the AfD in both states have been categorized as right-wing extremist by German federal security authorities. The discussions focused on their major shared issue: mass deportations. Sellner has talked openly about revoking migrants' German citizenship, and Lena Kotre, an AfD lawmaker in Brandenburg, struck a no less radical tone in mid-January. Kotre promised that if the AfD came to power in the state, "people will be deported until the runway glows hot.""
Meetings in Brandenburg and Thuringia between AfD parliamentarians and Austrian extremist Martin Sellner were orchestrated events. One meeting took the form of a panel debate and the other was held in a state parliament. Both AfD state branches have been labeled right-wing extremist by federal security authorities. The events centered on mass deportations, including calls to revoke migrants' German citizenship. An AfD lawmaker vowed mass deportations if the party gained power. The meetings serve electoral aims as AfD campaigns in eastern states and function as maneuvers in an internal party power struggle between regional radicals and a more moderate federal leadership.
Read at www.dw.com
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