AfD against stricter rules for travel to Russia
The AfD will not impose stricter rules for their representatives on foreign trips or interviews with foreign media. The party congress in Essen rejected dealing with a corresponding proposal from several delegates. This proposal foresaw disciplinary action against deputies who, without the approval of the party leadership, give interviews to foreign media, make "politically related" foreign trips or publicly meet with politicians there. The background is repeated trips and appearances of AfD politicians also in Russian media.
Bavarian state deputy Florian Köhler and supporters of the proposal criticized "visits to regional dictators or autocrats." One should rather focus on one's own homeland to avoid being perceived by voters as a "henchman" of foreign states. "We should not make ourselves the plaything for shady states."
The AfD European list candidate Maximilian Krah was also meant with the proposal, it had been called for by the proposal submitters before the party congress. Krah had made controversial statements about the Nazi SS in an Italian newspaper. Subsequently, the right-wing ID faction in the European Parliament excluded the AfD.
Despite the AfD's decision against imposing stricter rules for their representatives, there have been calls for disciplinary action due to unapproved foreign trips and interviews with foreign media, particularly in Russian media. Travelling to Russia for politically related reasons without party approval can be seen as aligning oneself with foreign states and potentially damaging the party's image.
