The German right-wing populist opposition party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is sending Andreas Kalbitz away, writes DW. He is chairman of the AfD faction in the state of Brandenburg and also one of the most influential radical voices within the party.
Kalbitz, 47, was one of the leaders of the party wing ‘der Flügel’. This organization was designated ‘extreme right-wing’ by the German intelligence services last March.
Kalbitz was voted out by the party board because he allegedly has ties to a youth movement for neo-Nazis, “Heimattreuen Deutschen Jugend (HDJ)”. According to AfD members, former members of that organization may not be members of the AfD.
Kalbitz denies HDJ membership, but has said it would be “not unlikely” if his name were on an old HDJ list of members anyway. Kalbitz was also photographed at a group event in 2007, before German authorities banned HDJ two years later.
Kalbitz disagrees with the decision and says he will take all possible legal avenues to challenge the decision.
German intelligence was watching Kalbitz
The 47-year-old Kalbitz, together with leader of the state of Thuringia Björn Höcke, headed the far-right party branch ‘der Flügel’.
AfD officially describes itself as national-conservative and liberal, but has been struggling with the more radical voices within ‘der Flügel’ for some time. Much more moderate members left the party due to a conflict over the course.
At the end of March ‘der Flügel’ lifted up, under pressure from the AfD board. The wing had just been placed under the supervision of the German secret service. He concluded after investigation that the party branch had right-wing extremist objectives.
It is the second discharge from the party in a short time. At the end of April, AfD spokesman Christian Lüth was fired for calling himself a fascist on several occasions.
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