Language
Country/Area
No result found
Matern's power struggle in his party: Why did his clash with the far right trigger key changes?
On the stage of German politics, the name of Jörg Meuthen has attracted a lot of attention. The former German economist has played a key role in several important elections as a leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. However, tensions between him and the far-right wing of the party eventually led to conflicts within the party and his eventual resignation. What does this power struggle reflect?
Matern represented the AfD in the 2019 European elections and tried to convey a relatively moderate image to voters, but all this was on thin ice within the party.
Meuthen began his career as a professor of political economy and finance at Kehl College. In terms of political stance, he was initially closely associated with the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and joined the AfD because of its Eurosceptic stance. However, as his status in the party rose, his positions and ideas began to arouse doubts from some far-right forces within the same party. For example, Meuthen supported so-called "conservative reforms" in Germany in 2016 and opposed the West German student movement that he believed continued to influence German politics.
During his tenure as the federal spokesman and leader of the AfD, Matern insisted that the party should be a citizens' party with a serious appearance, which was fundamentally opposed to the "wings" faction within the party. This faction represents the more extreme political positions, including Nietzscheans and neo-Nazis. Matern's attempts to exclude Björn Höcke, one of the faction's leaders, failed, leading to an open split within the party.
"We are opposed to letting immigrants enter in large numbers so that our country will no longer be identifiable in a few years." Matern's statement at a party meeting caused widespread controversy.
As the 2020 party conference approaches, Matern is facing internal challenges, with many party groups questioning his leadership and even being booed at the conference. The challenge he faces is not only about policy direction but also his personal ambitions, amid widespread concerns that he wants to become a first-time candidate in Germany's federal elections. These tensions ultimately catalyzed his resignation in 2022.
Matern's resignation is not only a major personal decision, but also a reflection of the changes in Germany's political ecology. When he resigned, he pointed out that the AfD had moved in an too far-right direction and was contrary to Germany's basic liberal democratic order. This has also triggered concerns about the future path of the party.
He said: "I want the AfD to be a liberal-conservative movement, but our more radical far-right wing is gaining influence in the party."
After quitting the AfD, Matern joined the German Center Party in June 2022, but chose to resign from the party only a year later due to governance differences with the party leadership. This series of changes not only marks a transformation in his personal political career, but also hints at the deepening of rifts in Germany's far-right forces. It remains to be seen how these forces will interact with each other in the future.
In Matern's story, we can see that the political power struggle is not simply a conflict of personal ideologies, but involves deeper factions within the party and their views on the outside world. In an uncertain situation and faced with the rise of radicalism, how will German politics evolve in the future?
