"Face of the NS"
These right-wing AfD stalwarts sit in the new Bundestag
Two days after the Bundestag elections in Germany, the AfD parliamentary group, which has doubled in size, has been constituted in Berlin. It also includes controversial MPs who have special ties to far-right networks. One of them called himself the "friendly face of National Socialism".
The AfD doubled its result from 10.4 to 20.8 percent and now has 152 MPs, up from 77 in the last legislative period. 60 MPs belonged to the previous Bundestag, 92 are new members. These include controversial figures with links to right-wing extremist networks. A brief portrait of some politicians.
- Matthias Helferich
Helferich was elected to the Bundestag in the fall of 2021 via the North Rhine-Westphalian state list of the AfD, but was not previously allowed to be part of the parliamentary group. Now he is. Helferich is controversial because of comments he made in older chats. He had described himself as the "friendly face of National Socialism", but he had merely reproduced the attribution of a leftist to X and made fun of it, Helferich told dpa on the fringes of the parliamentary group meeting. When asked, he "definitely" ruled out any links to National Socialism. Helferich is also the subject of expulsion proceedings brought against him by the AfD in North Rhine-Westphalia last year. In an application to the party's regional arbitration court, it was stated at the time that Helferich had "articulated the deportation of German citizens with a migration background and other categories of people using state coercive measures as a political objective". In doing so, he had referred to those affected as "cattle".
- Maximilian Krah
In his party, he has a reputation for being all about himself: Maximilian Krah - nicknamed "Schampus-Max", an allusion to his lifestyle - is moving from the European Parliament to the Bundestag. Krah is surrounded by several scandals. He employed a man who is alleged to have spied for China and is in custody. An alleged Russian spy is said to have gained access to the European Parliament via his office in Brussels. The AfD was kicked out of its parliamentary group in the EU Parliament after Krah claimed last May that the Waffen SS were not just criminals
- Alexander Gauland
The honorary chairman of the AfD has now largely withdrawn from active involvement. However, after previously declining to run for the Bundestag again, the 84-year-old decided to change his mind and stood again in his home town of Chemnitz. He is now the oldest member of parliament. When asked how much he wanted to get involved in the parliamentary group for another four years, Gauland told dpa: "I will participate, as I have always done so far."
- Stefan Möller, Torben Braga, Robert Teske
Höcke's confidants Stefan Möller, Torben Braga and Robert Teske from Thuringia are also new to parliament. Möller, together with Höcke, is the state spokesperson for the Thuringian AfD association, which is classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a confirmed right-wing extremist organization. Braga is the former parliamentary managing director in the state parliament, while Teske is Höcke's office manager. The change of the trio is seen as a sign that the far-right networks are shifting from Thuringia to federal politics. The question of what role Höcke wants to take on in the future hangs over them. - Dario Seifert
31-year-old Dario Seifert is one of the youngest candidates in the future parliamentary group. According to consistent media reports, he used to be active in the far-right scene - as a member of the "Young National Democrats", the youth organization of the NPD at the time, which Seifert apparently admitted to the "Nordkurier" newspaper: "In 2012, at the age of 17, I was looking for a political field of activity and was active as a passive member of the Young National Democrats for almost two years," the newspaper quotes the MP as saying.
Leadership duo Weidel and Chrupalla confirmed
On Tuesday, the AfD MPs confirmed the leadership duo of Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla in office with a large majority.
Parliamentary group insists on more influence in the Bundestag
The new AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag insists on holding the chairs of Bundestag committees in future and is laying claim to a vice-presidential post in the Bundestag.
Since entering the Bundestag in 2017, the AfD is the only parliamentary group that has never been represented in the parliamentary presidency. All candidates for vice president have so far failed to achieve the required majority. In the legislative period coming to an end, the AfD was also denied the chairmanship of Bundestag committees, as its candidates failed in the committees. An AfD appeal against this before the German Constitutional Court was unsuccessful.
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