AfD member of the Bundestag Thomas Seitz from South Baden is turning his back on his party and parliamentary group. The BW state executive then asked him to resign from his mandate.
AfD member of the Bundestag Thomas Seitz from South Baden has announced his resignation from the party and parliamentary group. Seitz announced on Sunday on his website and on his social media channels that he would be leaving with effect from March 31st. He was expressly not interested in a shift to the right in the AfD, he said about the reasons for his move. He struggled with what the party had developed into and spoke of a “system of favoritism.” The decisive factor for the withdrawal was the AfD’s special party conference in Baden-Württemberg at the end of February. Seitz represents the Emmendingen-Lahr constituency.
AfD state executive board in BW reacts clearly
The AfD in Baden-Württemberg has now also reacted to the withdrawal and called on Seitz to “immediately resign his mandate so that an AfD member can take his place in the Bundestag,” state chairman Markus Frohnmaier told SWR. “If he doesn’t do this and, as an ex-AfD member, pockets around 189,000 euros in Bundestag allowances over the next year and a half, this would prove that his wild attacks against the AfD and its members are hypocritical and mendacious.”
The decision was made after a chaotic party conference in Rottweil
Seitz had stated that he had already felt the urgent need to resign from the party immediately during the recent party conference in Rottweil, but had put this on hold for weeks and was still torn internally. “But the prevailing feeling is still that of pure disgust for my own party, which I have been supporting for 10 years,” said Seitz.
The AfD Baden-Württemberg party conference on February 24th and 25th in Rottweil was characterized by chaos and tumult. A power struggle between two camps is raging in the regional association. The board members argued openly about whether the event could be held. There were not enough seats available in the hall. In the town hall there were tumultuous scenes, boos, and even a kind of mutton jump: everyone present had to leave the hall again in order to sort out those who were not entitled to vote.
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Seitz accuses the chairman of a “coup”.
As if nothing had happened, a second party conference was held to vote and change the statutes, said Seitz. The leadership duo – Bundestag member Markus Frohnmaier and state parliament member Emil Sätze, both representatives of the camp around AfD leader Alice Weidel – were able to hold their own in office in the election. In his statement, Seitz speaks of a “coup by the chairmen.”
Frohnmaier denies Seitz’s character suitability
Frohnmaier doesn’t want to leave it like this: “The numerous and general accusations that Mr. Seitz makes are largely inaccurate. The term he chose for a ‘Weidel clan’ is also indecent and shows that Mr. Seitz is unsuitable in character to be in to work with a political party.”
With his departure, the AfD parliamentary group still has 77 members. It started after the 2021 federal election with 82 elected officials. Several politicians have now left the group for various reasons. Seitz emphasized that he would continue to fulfill his mandate as a non-attached MP.