Many AfD politicians consider the federal and state corona restrictions to be wrong. The party chairman Jörg Meuthen also criticizes some of the corona rules. But above all, he wants to pull through a presence party conference.
Berlin (dpa) – The AfD wants at all costs to prevent its federal party conference planned for the end of November from being canceled due to the corona pandemic. The party leadership has so far excluded an online party congress as a replacement.
“There is a strong will in the party to let the party congress take place, so we would take legal action if necessary,” said AfD chairman Jörg Meuthen of the German press agency in Berlin.
The federal party conference of the AfD, which is primarily about social policy and the by-election of two board members, is planned for the last weekend in November in Kalkar, North Rhine-Westphalia. According to the currently applicable NRW ordinance to contain the corona pandemic, meetings of party committees are permitted with “a maximum of 250 people in closed rooms or 500 people outdoors, only after approval by the responsible authorities”. And only then «if the meeting has to be held in November 2020 for a valid reason, in presence and with the intended number of people». The AfD has 600 delegates.
Meuthen criticized that he did not see the federal government “taking a targeted approach” in dealing with the pandemic. It is true that football games have to take place without fans and that people are asked to keep their distance. However, he finds how hotels, restaurants and cultural sites are dealt with as “inappropriate”. Because most of these companies and facilities have put a lot of money and effort into sustainable hygiene concepts.
The federal government should have used the past few months better to procure a sufficient number of corona rapid tests, criticized the AfD boss. “More rapid tests, that’s money well spent,” said Meuthen. “It’s always cheaper than the consequences of the shutdown,” he added.
When asked how he assesses the photo recently published by his party colleague Stephan Brandner, which shows the member of the Bundestag in an ICE train without a mask, the AfD chairman replied: “I would like him to refrain from doing that.” Brandner posted a photo on his Facebook page on October 22nd in which he can be seen without the mouth and nose protection currently required on trains. In August, the lawyer triggered a police operation when he was noticed without a mask on the train.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201105-99-216969 / 2
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