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Dresden (dpa) - With the demand for Germany to leave the European Union and without top candidates, the AfD has ushered in its federal election campaign.
At a presence party conference in Dresden on the first day of protest, the more than 550 delegates present voted by majority vote for Germany to leave the EU.
The resolution on this said: "We consider Germany's exit from the European Union and the establishment of a new European economic and interest group to be necessary."
Party leader Jörg Meuthen, who is a member of the European Parliament, had clearly spoken out against it.
He said: "Politics is the art of the possible."
“#Dexit” was one of the top topics on the Twitter short message service on Sunday.
That would be the "end of the EU and the internal market, our most important export market," wrote FDP Vice Alexander Graf Lambsdorff.
He accused the AfD of "blunt nationalism".
When it comes to migration, the hardliners also prevailed.
Immigration - also of skilled workers - is to be severely restricted.
Japan should serve as a model.
Despite a warning from a delegate, a passage was passed that basically denies a lack of skilled workers.
The "so-called shortage of skilled workers" is a "constructed narrative of the industrial and business associations as well as other lobby groups", it is now said.
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The AfD also demands the “rejection of any family reunification for refugees”.
Critics of this formulation pointed out that this is not legally possible.
The Thuringian regional chief Björn Höcke countered by pointing out that one is not in a legal, but a political sphere.
It is all about setting a political message for the voters.
A delegate reminded his colleagues that the AfD was a family party and that such a request would bring it to allegations of inhumanity.
Elsewhere in the electoral program it is stated that humanitarian admission may only be granted to persons who are particularly vulnerable and selected by the Bundestag, "for whose selection a cultural and religious background that is in line with German values and society is an important criterion."
In their program for the Bundestag election on September 26th, the delegates also added the following passage: “The Bundeswehr should again maintain a strong corps spirit, its traditions and German values.
The soldier's virtues are honor, loyalty, camaraderie, and bravery.
The Bundeswehr must live the best traditions in German military history. "
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An application was rejected by a narrow majority, which stated: "In particular, the gun license, which has now practically no longer been issued and which allows particularly endangered persons to carry sharp weapons in public, is to be issued more easily than before if the risk is proven."
However, this application was referred to a party committee for examination, which deals with the party's internal security program.
Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, member of the state parliament from Saxony-Anhalt, had promoted this application.
He was aware of several AfD MPs who had applied for a gun license in vain.
"And here you go, who is much more endangered than the general public by attacks on life and limb than an AfD member of the state parliament or Bundestag member?" He added.
The Bundestag member Götz Frömming warned that if this demand were to end up in the program for the Bundestag election, the only effect would be “that one will say that the AfD wants to arm itself”.
Before the end of the party congress, changes to the statutes should be discussed.
The state board of Saxony-Anhalt wanted to put a vote to limit terms of office to vote.
According to this, a member of the federal executive committee should be able to be re-elected directly to the same party office at most twice.
For Meuthen, that would mean that he would not be allowed to run again for the presidency in November.
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The delegates decided not to choose any top candidates for the federal election.
There was only a majority for the proposal to campaign with a top duo.
The election of this team of two will not yet take place at the party congress.
Instead, the members of the party should decide at a later date.
Parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel, who formed the top team together with Alexander Gauland in the 2017 federal election, left it open whether she would then run for it.
Party leader Tino Chrupalla and the Hessian MP Joana Cotar, however, both declared that they were available for it.
In addition, the delegates passed a "Corona resolution".
In it, the party demands "to refrain from any, even indirect, compulsion to carry out tests, vaccinations, including the introduction of so-called rapid test apps and the green vaccination pass, as well as disadvantages for those who are exempt from masks".
The AfD had been criticized in advance for organizing a presence party conference with hundreds of participants despite the increasing number of infections.
Party leader Meuthen had expressly defended this.
In its program for the European elections adopted two years ago, the AfD formulated its stance on a possible exit from the EU even more cautiously.
At that time it was said: "If our fundamental reform approaches in the existing system of the EU cannot be implemented in a reasonable time, we consider an exit of Germany or an orderly dissolution of the European Union and the establishment of a new European economic and interest community to be necessary."
From the AfD's point of view at the time, however, a “dexit” would only be possible after a referendum on Germany's exit.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210411-99-161562 / 2
Federal party congress