At the end of November 2020, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) held a federal party convention which brought together about 500 delegates, in person, during lockdown measures. Maybe unsurprisingly, the convention criticized “panic-like corona measures taken by the federal government”.
During the convention, one of AfD’s two Federal Spokesmen, Jörg Meuthen, caused internal uproar as he, once again, joined the party’s internal conflict between ‘moderates’ and radicals, by attacking those who showed uncritical sympathy for the Querdenken (lateral thinking) anti-lockdown ‘movement’ (which often features conspiracy theories or extreme-right actors). His criticism furthermore included those who label the government’s reform to the infection protection law (Infektionsschutzgesetz) as “Corona dictatorship” (Corona-Diktatur) and compare it to the Enabling Act of 1933 (Ermächtigungsgesetz).
Whether this attempt to steer the AfD away from the most obscure anti-lockdown manifestations remains to be seen – and similarly, the jury is out to assess whether the party’s COVID-19 performance will ultimately appeal to the electorate. After all, while being the most critical of all parliamentary parties in Germany about COVID-19 response, its stance has not prevented the AfD from sliding in the polls.
