The AfD’s Shift to the Far-Right: An Interview with Right-Wing Extremism Researcher David Begrich

The ethnic wing wants to finally impose its worldview on the AfD, says right-wing extremism researcher Begrich. The election of Maximilian Krah as the top candidate for the European elections is not the last step on the way there.

tagesschau.de: Maximilian Krah is considered a right winger even in the AfD. What does he stand for?

David Begrich: The election is a very clear signal that the AfD is finally positioning itself on the right in European politics – on the far right. Maximilian Krah is a lawyer, Catholic and has been one of the most important exponents of the nationalist wing of the AfD for years. In the European Parliament, he builds up the relevant political connections. In addition, he also wrote what he calls a manifesto: “Politics from the Right”. In it he tries to find a new basis for right-wing politics for Germany and Europe in the sense of right-wing identity politics – in immigration, state, nation, people, but also in questions of gender politics and family.

tagesschau.de: Krah’s manifesto was published by the extreme right-wing publisher Götz Kubitschek. He appears again and again at Kubitschek in Schnellroda.

term: Krah is not satisfied with day-to-day political interventions in the European Parliament. That’s something special. Even before the book he appeared in the right-wing extremist public, for example through a lengthy interview with Björn Höcke, in which Krah justified his positions in terms of ideology.

tagesschau.de: Is the AfD alone in Europe with Krah’s positions or is it following a trend?

term: There is already an extreme right in the European Parliament. The European Union in its current form wants to smash this politically and structurally. The EU is perceived as an instrument of American-controlled globalization. The EU is described as an overflowing bureaucracy that is, so to speak, alien to the peoples of Europe and imposes an external will on the individual nations.

In Germany, there is also the argument that Germany is a net contributor to the EU. So no economic or social advantages are drawn from the EU. That’s not true, either in terms of the numbers or the historical context, but the AfD has a different blueprint for Europe. They call it “the Europe of fatherlands”.

tagesschau.de: What does this Europe look like?

term: It would be a retreat to the nation states. These then only conclude bilateral agreements with each other. That would mean the end of the European Union as a community of values ​​and as an economic association. However, this conception is not new. The Republicans took part in the 1987 European elections.

tagesschau.de: Some in the AfD say the EU must be reformed. If that fails, they should be dissolved. The Thuringian state leader Höcke, who supported Krah’s candidacy, said on the sidelines of the party conference: “The EU must die so that the real Europe can live.” What does the AfD stand for?

term: Within the AfD, a current of political fundamentalism says: “We have to turn away from the EU and also from NATO.” Ultimately, this goes against the western bond. One favors a neutral Germany that ties closely to Russia or even panders to it. Above all, the völkisch-nationalist wing in East Germany takes this position. However, she is currently unable to win a majority in the entire party. Because the staff in the West is characterized by the West ties. The AfD is still swinging back and forth between “try reforms first” and “exit immediately”.

tagesschau.de: The AfD does not want to vote on its European election program until next weekend, after the end of the list.

term: It will certainly be interesting to see how the party ultimately decides on this question. In any case, the völkisch-nationalist camp also associates Maximilian Krah with a programmatic statement. In any case, those who are in favor of a “conservative” realignment of NATO and the EU are on the defensive.

tagesschau.de: In his speech, Krah called on the party to continue the course of the last federal party conference in Riesa. At that time, the Höcke camp prevailed in many respects. Are we experiencing a substantive consolidation of the AfD in favor of the far right?

term: Behind Krah’s statement is probably the desire to become an ideologically unified party that is clearly in the camp of the extreme right. In this circle, the national conservatives and conservative liberals are perceived as troublemakers. Their camp is practically no longer able to act and is now to be pushed out of all positions. This process has already been completed in East Germany and is now to be completed throughout the AfD. That would mean that the AfD would also become a solid right-wing extremist party in West Germany.

tagesschau.de: Krah and representatives of so-called New Right claim they own the future. The old right, but also today’s government policies stand for the past. Is that true or is that marketing?

term: There is something to it, at least for the AfD. Krah himself recently said in an interview that the party is now more right-wing than at any time before. I essentially agree with this assessment. The molts that have taken place, and which have basically been on and off since 2013, mean a continuous shift to the right. It was and is a power struggle within the AfD for ideological and political positions. This power struggle was decided in Riesa.

Now it is a matter of consolidating and expanding this position and also programmatically underpinning the clear claim to leadership of the völkisch-nationalist group of actors in the AfD. The European Party Congress is, so to speak, a signpost to get there. But we will certainly see further programmatic shifts in emphasis by the AfD in the coming months, which will make it clear once again how far to the right the party is now.

The interview was conducted by Thomas Vorreyer, tagesschau.de