The meetings between state and federal parliamentarians of the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) from the eastern German states of Brandenburg and Thuringia and Austrian right-wing extremist Martin Sellner were carefully orchestrated. In Brandenburg, it was a panel debate, while in Thuringia, it was a discussion in the state parliament. The branches of the AfD in both states have been categorized as right-wing extremist by German federal security authorities.
The discussions focused on their major shared issue: mass deportations. Sellner has talked openly about revoking migrants' German citizenship, and Lena Kotré, an AfD lawmaker in Brandenburg, struck a no less radical tone in mid-January. Kotré promised that if the AfD came to power in the state, "people will be deported until the runway glows hot."
All this comes at an important time for the AfD. In regional elections this year, the party wants to enter the governments of two eastern German states: Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. They are, therefore, in campaign mode.
Sellner aims to influence 'power struggle' within AfD
Politics and communication consultant Johannes Hillje said Sellner is not just catering to an anti-immigration electorate with his AfD platform.
"Such meetings are not only directed externally at the public, but also internally within the party," Hillje told DW. "Therefore, they are a maneuver in a power struggle within the party which is taking place primarily between the eastern German state branches and the federal party leadership."
While AfD leadership at the federal level is oriented more toward moderation, the AfD's regional associations in eastern Germany lean toward radicalism. And Sellner stands for radicalism. For many years, he has been one of the most influential right-wing extremists in Europe.
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With his calls for mass deportations of Muslims and non-white people from Germany and Europe, he is one of the most important exponents of an ethnonationalism that opposes Islam, migration and diversity in society. In his youth, he joined the neo-Nazi scene in Austria; his mentor was the fanatical Holocaust denier Gottfried Küssel.
Sellner later rose to the top of the Identitarian Movement, an organization that agitates against migration and Islam. Under Sellner's leadership, it became so radical that the AfD distanced itself from the group, putting it on its "incompatibility list." That means that those who want to become a party member of the Alternative for Germany are not allowed to also be a member of the Identitarian Movement.
Despite this, Sellner and the AfD have remained close — although so far, not in an official capacity.
2023 'remigration' meeting sparks mass protests against Sellner, AfD
Following reports on a clandestine meeting in Potsdam between Sellner and AfD officials in which mass deportations were discussed under the label "remigration" in late 2023, Germany saw some of the biggest street protests in its post-World War II history.
Throughout the country, over several weeks, millions of people took to the streets. They warned against the AfD and their alleged plans to expel millions of people from Germany, simply because they are immigrants.
Could 'remigration' blow up the AfD's plan for power?
In the aftermath, an existential debate for the AfD gained momentum, with many asking whether the government should initiate a process to ban the party because it violates the fundamental values of a democratic society. So far, neither the Bundestag, the Federal government or Bundesrat has submitted a corresponding application to the German court responsible for such matters, the Federal Constitutional Court.
Proponents of a ban continue to point out the AfD's closeness to Sellner. In the meantime, numerous court verdicts have certified that Sellner's ideologies are incompatible with the German constitution. The Federal Administrative Court ruled in June 2025 that his "remigration plan" based on discrimination of German citizenship holders was "contrary to human dignity."
AfD in eastern Germany increasingly radical
But that doesn't seem to have put off influential AfD politicians from seeking closer ties to Sellner.
"The eastern German state branches think the radical path is the way to success for the AfD," said political consultant Hillje. "After all, they have to date achieved the most successful and best election results in Germany's east."
The AfD's national leadership, meanwhile, did not respond to an inquiry from DW on the meetings with Sellner. In a press conference on the sidelines of a federal parliamentary group meeting, AfD leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla said merely that the executive would review the matter. The party was allowed to talk with anyone, they added.
"The party leadership accepts that the AfD is presented and thought of as a party of expulsion, because that is the concept Martin Sellner presented: that German citizens should be removed from the country. And that is nothing else but expulsion," said Hillje.
Hillje said he sees Weidel as "a party leader driven by the right-wing extremist milieu," adding that the current discussion shows a progressive radicalization of the party.
This observation is reinforced by the AfD branch in Saxony-Anhalt. The party is currently polling about 40% there, and may be able to govern alone following the state parliamentary election in September. The German system favors coalition governments; however, all other German parties have so far refused to work with the AfD.
The AfD's draft election platform is radical: a massive restructuring of the democratic state — schools, churches, broadcasting, democracy projects. The party is threatening all institutions which have been critical toward it in the past with intervention, funding cuts or closure. They have also announced a radical course change in asylum and immigration policy.
Its lead candidate in Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund, is vying to become state premier. If he succeeds, the 35-year-old would be the first AfD state government leader in Germany.
How does Siegmund feel about Sellner? They both took part in the controversial meeting in Potsdam in December 2023, which sparked the nationwide protests.
This article was originally written in German.
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