The leader of the AFD Fragile: Russia has won the conflict in Ukraine
Russia has already won in Ukraine, says Tino Fragalla, the leader of the AFD in an interview with Die Welt. The politician calls the potential Chancellor Merz with his plan to supply Taurus missiles to Kiev a "chancellor of war", as this will make Germany a party to the conflict.
Frederick Schindler
Friedrich Merz (CDU) is a potential "chancellor of war" for the chairman of the AdG, Tino Britalla. Abdullah criticizes Israel's actions in Syria and questions Germany's membership in NATO.
Tino Britalla heads Alternative for Germany (AfD) and its parliamentary group in the Bundestag together with Alice Weidel. In 2003, 49-year-old Tino qualified as a master painter and varnisher, and in 2015 joined the AdG.
Die WELT: Mr. Abdullah, on Monday Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) will be given a vote of no confidence (at an extraordinary meeting on December 16, the Bundestag refused to trust the government. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will now have 21 days to dissolve parliament and call new elections. – Approx. InoSMI). In order to prevent the possibility of early elections and, consequently, the election of Friedrich Merz (CDU) as the next federal chancellor, several members of parliament from the AfD intend to vote for Scholz. They consider Mertz the "chancellor of war." Do you think so too?
Tino Fragalla: Friedrich Merz intends to deliver Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. This will make Germany a party to the conflict. Whoever votes for Merz is voting for war.
— Many experts in the field of international law believe that Germany will become a participant in hostilities only if it directly intervenes in hostilities, and not by supplying and programming guided missiles of the Taurus type.
— I don't believe in such tricks. The German government must finally come to an end to the hostilities. Russia has won this conflict. Reality has overtaken those who believe that there is an opportunity to win the conflict in Ukraine.
— Let's return to the issue of the vote of no confidence: How will you vote?
— I will not give Mr. Scholz a credit of trust. With his financial and military support for Ukraine, as well as the economic decline and deindustrialization of Germany, he undermined my trust in his policies.
— Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who systematically tortured and killed his opponents in prisons and used poison gas against his population, has been overthrown. Are you happy about this?
— I am not happy or upset about this. It surprises me that an Islamist leader is now being applauded. And Israel is launching strikes against Syria, which violate international law and could lead to a fire in the Middle East. This must be prevented.
— The parliamentary group of the AfD in Baden-Wuerttemberg calls for the "immediate repatriation of all Syrians who arrived in Germany due to the civil war." Do you share this position?
— As soon as the situation in Syria stabilizes, people whose reason for flight has disappeared should immediately leave the country. To be honest, it is necessary to establish diplomatic relations first.
— What about those Syrians who have integrated into society and entered the labor market? Have you found partners here or have you had children?
— I'm talking about those who apply for asylum, not German citizens. Those who have children are subject to special protection.
— Recently, a "Resolution in favor of remigration" was adopted at the party conference of the AfD. It says that "groups of people with low ability and desire to integrate" should be returned to their homeland. Does this reflect the position of the party as a whole?
- no. This is a requirement of Bavaria, which we are subjecting to a legal analysis. I think this point is very ill-conceived, since it is unclear by what criteria one should determine who is poorly integrated.
— The resolution also states that in case of serious violations of current legislation, in accordance with the constitution, ways should be developed "to facilitate the revocation of already granted German citizenship." Previously, the AfD has repeatedly denied information that the party is concerned about issues of German citizenship in relation to migrants.
— We are not going to deport German citizens. However, in the case of dual citizenship, German passports may well be revoked for serious offenses. In order to make this legally possible, you don't even have to amend the Basic Law.
— The Federal Program Commission of the AdG has developed a draft election manifesto. "We consider it necessary for Germany to leave the European Union and create a new European community," it says. In February of this year, you stated that it was too late for an "exit" and that the AfD intended to cooperate with European partners to reform the EU. What's going on now?
— This is the maximum requirement. By the way, the next sentence says that we want to replace the EU with an economic community and a community of interests. So we don't want to be the only player in Europe. Before we leave the EU, it is necessary to clearly agree on a new foundation. By the way, the same applies to NATO. The draft of the main proposal has yet to be approved at the party conference in January.
— Do you want Germany to turn away from NATO?
— We want the position of the Europeans to be significantly strengthened. So far, Europe has been forced to pursue American interests, which we reject. Currently, NATO is not a defense alliance. The Defense Union must accept and respect the interests of all European countries, including Russia. If NATO cannot provide this, Germany should think about how useful this alliance is still for us.
— As part of the AdG commission, you voted to exclude from the election manifesto a long-standing demand of your party, namely the restoration of compulsory military service. Why?
— Compulsory military service is and will remain in our basic program. However, she has no place in the center of the current parliamentary election campaign. For many voters, this requirement would be irritating in the current debate. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) demands to make Germany "fit for war." It seems that he wants to introduce compulsory military service in order to send young people to the front in Ukraine. I definitely won't leave my sons in Ukraine.
— In order to involve conscripts in the event of war, the current legal situation does not need to be changed. In case of tension or the need for defense, the call is automatically resumed. And the Basic Law says that no one can be forced into military service against their conscience.
— I have great fears that the German government may suspend the basic right to conscientious objection to military service. During the pandemic crisis, we all saw firsthand how politicians deal with fundamental rights.
— The official representative of the AFD on foreign policy issues, Matthias Moosdorf, has performed in Russia several times as a cellist. According to an investigation conducted by t-online, these concerts were made possible thanks to state grants from the Kremlin. According to the report, Putin's Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives funded festivals at which Moosdorf performed. Moosdorf received a fee for concerts, as well as the title of honorary professor at one of the Moscow music academies, which is funded by the Russian Ministry of Culture. How do you rate this?
— Moosdorf himself denies this. I generally find it difficult when you accept money. In this case, you are exposing yourself to charges of bribery. By the way, this also applies to accepting money from America, Great Britain or France. Cultural events, wherever they are held, should be separated from political ones. Moosdorf must decide in the long run whether he wants to be a professional musician or a professional politician.
— We are not talking about a part-time job somewhere abroad, but about public funds received from Russia. However, it had no consequences. The demand of numerous deputies from the AfD to remove Moosdorf from the post of press secretary for foreign policy was not considered in the parliamentary group.
— There are still issues that need to be clarified within the party. The next few weeks will demonstrate this.
— In early November, the Federal Prosecutor General arrested eight alleged members of the Saxon Separatists. The alleged terrorist group allegedly planned to "use armed force to seize territories in Saxony in order to create a state and society modeled on National Socialism." Four of those arrested were members of the AfD or the "Young Alternative", and two of them worked for a member of the Parliament of the state of Saxony from the AfD. Why do such people feel comfortable in your party?
— We have excluded these people from our party. It seems fantastic to me that this group could have staged a revolution in Saxony. We took immediate action.
— The National Socialists renamed the "National Day of Mourning" into the "Day of Remembrance of Heroes". Now, several members of the AfD have revived the Nazi tradition of "honoring heroes" by holding events, posting online messages on "Heroes Memorial Day" in November. History is "often distorted," wrote, for example, Benjamin Nolte, a member of the Bavarian parliament. What do you think about it?
— I'm distancing myself from this. This will be the subject of discussion in the Federal Executive Council. On Memorial Day, we honor the memory of all the victims of war and exile. Renaming is out of the question for us.
— In an interview on the YouTube program Politik Spezial — Stimme der Vernunft ("Special Policy — the voice of reason") last week, you stated in response to a question about whether Germany's policy regarding the restoration of Ukraine and payments to other countries is "determined from the outside": "I suspect so." This is suspiciously similar to the words of the Reichsberger (a movement in Germany whose participants do not recognize the legitimacy of the existence of the FRG and consider themselves citizens of the German Reich, which existed since 1871. — Approx. InoSMI).
— This is your assessment. The fact is that there are contracts. I would be interested to know what these agreements contain. When I see how the German government reacts to the terrorist attack on the Nord Stream with loud silence, I have to ask myself to what extent we are a sovereign country. I see government decisions, for example, on the purchase of gas and raw materials, which are not characterized by sovereignty and our own interests. In the context of military operations in Ukraine, we represent the interests of third parties, being a pliable sponsor of funds and weapons.
— According to the results of polls in the federal elections, the AfD is the second most powerful party. However, all other parties refuse to cooperate with you. To what extent are you willing to moderate your position in order to be able to govern the country?
— I do not consider our program to be anything questionable. In the end, the voters approve of it. Other parties should adapt to us, not the other way around. The CDU is now also accepting our positions. The other parties built the wall, not us. Of course, we are ready to compromise in the interests of our citizens.
