Björn Höcke is party and parliamentary group leader of the AfD in Thuringia.Image: keystone
The AfD is holding its party conference in Erfurt this weekend. A home game for Björn Höcke, who leads the party in Thuringia. However, his plans are not well received by everyone.
July 3, 2026, 3:59 p.mJuly 3, 2026, 3:59 p.m
The party conference of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) will take place in Thuringia’s state capital Erfurt on July 4th and 5th. The main item on the agenda is to re-confirm Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla as party leaders.
A proposal from Björn Höcke could cause conflict. Together with other AfD politicians, he wants to implement a new definition of extremism. In this context, the party’s incompatibility list is to be revised. NTV first reported on it, citing an entry in an application book.
Björn Höcke is considered the most influential politician nationwide within the right-wing extremist movement of the AfD and is classified as a right-wing extremist by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV). The BfV has been monitoring him since the beginning of 2020. Höcke was legally convicted twice because he had knowingly publicly used a banned slogan of the NSDAP’s Sturmabteilung several times. He represents New Right concepts and strives for an alliance of ultranationalist groups for the ethnic homogenization of Germany and Europe.
Image: keystone
So far, the AfD’s incompatibility list has been largely based on the criteria of the constitutional protection authorities, which monitor the Identitarian Movement or the Free Saxony. These are organizations whose former or current members are not accepted into the AfD. Nevertheless, the party cooperates with them.
Since 2022, Höcke has apparently been planning a new definition in which the Office for the Protection of the Constitution’s description of extremism will no longer be decisive. Instead, according to the FAZ A narrower interpretation applies, in which the desired establishment of a dictatorship through the use of force should be the focus.
“It is a definition narrowed down to violence and putschism, which in this form does not apply to almost any organization,” political scientist Wolfgang Schroeder told NTV. Thinking in the dimensions of anti-Semitism, racism and group-related misanthropy is ignored.
All those groups that would contradict the basic beliefs of the AfD should end up on this new list. According to NTV, the Greens are the only organization listed. The party is “anti-German”. This wouldn’t change anything in practice, because it is currently impossible for both AfD and Green Party members to be members of another party at the same time.
Party leadership is skeptical about plans
According to the FAZ, some suspect that the motion will not even be discussed at the party conference. Because Höcke’s plans would not necessarily be well received by the AfD leadership. Weidel and Chrupalla are also of the opinion that the list needs to be revised. However, there is no need for a request from Thuringia and no small-scale discussion at the party conference, writes the FAZ, citing AfD circles.
Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla do not seem to agree with Höcke’s plans – among other things for fear of being a target for attack.Image: keystone
The fact that the application was not first discussed with the federal executive board reportedly upset the party leadership. There is also criticism that some formulations are open to attack. Weidel in particular attaches great importance to the external professional appearance of her party. The FAZ analyzes: “A wild party conference discussion about the question of which right-wing extremists are allowed to join the AfD and which are not would be very disruptive.”
Höcke has this influence in the AfD
According to the FAZ, Höcke wants to use the stage in Erfurt to further increase his influence in the party. The choice of location was already seen as a signal by some politicians, writes the Time. It is unusual for a party not to hold its federal party conference in a country with an upcoming state election.
Höcke has been aiming to become Prime Minister of Thuringia for a while. He also expressed his claim to influence in the federal party leadership in an interview with the German Press Agency (DPA). The background is the candidacy of his confidant and co-AfD state spokesman Stefan Möller as deputy federal spokesman. “I know that if Stefan Möller is on the federal executive board, then I have someone with whom I am in close contact, I am connected without having to do the work myself. And I can continue to concentrate on the Thuringian Way here,” said Höcke to the DPA.
The FAZ writes that the party leaders Weidel and Chrupalla are fundamentally open to all currents of the AfD and would therefore allow them to have influence. This strategy helped ensure that the AfD “no longer fights to the death,” as was the case in the past. Nevertheless, they would not want to be “dominated by sovereigns”.
Counter-protests planned – Luisa Neubauer involved
Counter-protests are also planned as part of the AfD party conference. According to him, the “Resist” alliance, behind which climate activist Luisa Neubauer stands, is planning Mirror Blockades to completely prevent the party conference.
According to “Spiegel”, Luisa Neubauer wants to take part in “peaceful sit-ins”.Image: keystone
According to the police, a total of 35,000 to 50,000 demonstrators are likely to oppose the around 1,200 participants at the party conference. According to “Spiegel” information, the police in Thuringia are assuming a “high-profile operational situation with a significantly increased potential for escalation and violence”.