Frauke Petry said she plans to form a new political group in the German parliament after leaving the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Petry, the party’s former leader who quit following the group’s stunning election results last week, told newspaper Welt am Sonntag in an interview Sunday that she wants to form a new party in the Bundestag, but would not reveal what it would be called. She also said that she and her colleagues would “soon form a group and perhaps a faction” with the goal of running in the 2019 Saxon regional parliament election. Still, Petry said she does not hope to see members leaving the AfD en masse along with her.
“We are not aiming for an exodus from the AfD,” Petry said. “We will not attempt to gut the AfD specifically, because that does not work at all. I know that AfD members want to switch to us because we have received inquiries. But the clientele for what we want to do — realpolitik with a clear market-based direction — is distinctly greater outside the AfD.”
When asked how Petry’s new group could avoid being associated with radical AfD members, she responded that one method could be through looking at relations with Russia.
“Take the relationship with Russia: I wish that this could become better. But because of my experience with the East German dictatorship under Russian domination, on no account do I want to exchange the stable partnership with the U.S.A. for a Germany dominated by Russia,” Petry said.
Full Article: Far right’s Frauke Petry plans new political party in Germany – POLITICO.