Chrupalla formulates AfD's claim to power: "We want to govern"
Regarding the European election campaign, Chrupalla stated: "Some have unwittingly and unprofessionally behaved, providing unnecessary attack surfaces." He added: "We are taking two steps forward and one step back. But we need to take three steps forward." The AfD received 15.9 percent in the European election, which was below their capabilities, according to Chrupalla. "We could have had 20 percent."
Chrupalla did not mention the scandal-tainted European candidates Maximilian Krah and Petr Bystron by name. However, he said: "We need to examine our candidates more carefully in the future." This is a task for the next federal executive committee, which is to be elected in Essen.
The AfD leader lamented a "remarkable campaign" against the party in the media and public. "They will do everything to prevent us from exercising power for the benefit of Germany," Chrupalla said. He placed the political position of his party as "libertarian-social." The AfD is "the party of value creators, of the middle class, of craftsmen," he added.
Chrupalla explicitly invited German citizens with a migration background to join the AfD, which in some parts is classified as extremist by the Constitutional Protection Agency. "We are sending a clear signal to Germans with a migration background: You belong to us, engage with us and for us," Chrupalla said.
Chrupalla and the co-chair Alice Weidel are standing for re-election in the afternoon. Chrupalla called on the delegates in Essen to close ranks. In the past, "constant strife" had weakened the AfD, he said. The federal executive committee elected two years ago in Riesa, however, had found a collegial cooperation. "This shows that our party has learned," Chrupalla concluded.
- Petr Bystron, a member of the AfD, was not directly mentioned by Chrupalla in his critique of the party's European election campaign.
- Maximilian K Rah, another AfD candidate, was also not explicitly named by Chrupalla during his remarks about the need for more careful examination of candidates in the future.
- Despite the European elections resulting in a lower percentage for the AfD than Chrupalla believed they could achieve, party leader Chrupalla still claimed, "We claim to power."
- At the AfD party conference, Tino Chrupalla stressed the importance of unity within the party, highlighting how "constant strife" in the past had weakened them.
- AfD leader Chrupalla invited citizens with a migration background to join their party, positioning the AfD as "the party of value creators, of the middle class, of craftsmen."
