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The (
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
for "Alternative Midpoint" or "Alternative Centre"), sometimes referred to as , was a faction and
political association A political organization is any organization that involves itself in the political process, including political parties, non-governmental organizations, and special interest advocacy groups. Political organizations are those engaged in politica ...
within the
Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...
party which was formed in 2017 and presented itself as "liberal patriotic" and "conservative". It has been described by commentators as being founded as a counterweight and a response to the more hardline wing of the AfD. The faction ended its activities in November 2019 without dissolving officially; ''Der Flügel'' ended its activities officially in April 2020.


History

In July 2017, a coalition formed within the AfD who took a critical view of rising voices within the party such as that of the Thuringian state spokesman and parliamentary group leader
Björn Höcke Björn Uwe Höcke (born 1 April 1972) is a German politician of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. He is chair of the state branch of the AfD in Thuringia, that is classified as a right-wing extremist organization. Höcke led th ...
, who in a speech described the Berlin
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (, also known as the Holocaust Memorial German: ''Holocaust-Mahnmal''), is a memorial in Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust committed by Nazi Germany, designed by architect Peter Eisenman an ...
as a "monument of shame." Berengar Elsner von Gronow first founded the (AM) in
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
with like-minded people in order to "finally give the moderate, the bourgeois, a perceptible and concerted voice." Gronow argued the party had to work harder to counter media accusations that the AfD was a far-right extremist movement and that a vocal minority should not be allowed to dominate the party's external perception. The formation of the group was welcomed by former AfD chairwoman
Frauke Petry Frauke Petry (; ; born 1 June 1975) is a German politician who chaired the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party from July 2015 to September 2017. A chemist by training and with a professional background as a businesswoman, some political scienti ...
and AfD national board member Dirk Driesang, who argued the party would not find peace unless there was an answer to the faction and networking was done to attract intellectual and middle class conservatives back to the AfD in order to strengthen Germany as a whole.
Matthias Kamann Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew. Notable people Notable people named Matthias include the following: Religion * Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Iscari ...

''In der AfD wächst ein zartes Pflänzchen der Mäßigung''
WeltN24, 23 July 2017.
Tilman Steffen
''AfD: Die letzte Barriere''
Zeit online, 19 July 2017.
In September 2017, the association branched out into
Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...
,
Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...
,
Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...
and
Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...
. The founder of Thuringia wing Helmut Witter argued that the party needed to focus on issues such as freedom of speech, law & order and the European Union while distancing itself from the
Identitarian movement The Identitarian movement or Identitarianism is a Pan-European nationalism, pan-European nationalist, Ethnic nationalism, ethno-nationalist, Far-right politics, far-right ideological movement centred on the preservation of White people, white ...
.Maria Fiedler
''In der AfD formiert sich Widerstand gegen Höckes "Flügel"''
Tagesspiegel, 9 September 2017.
The AM was officiated nationwide in October 2017 in a meeting of around 200 AfD members in
Tettau Tettau is a municipality in the district of Kronach in Bavaria in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to ...
and was endorsed by AfD spokespeople Konrad Adam,
Beatrix von Storch Beatrix von Storch (; 27 May 1971) is a German politician and lawyer, who has been the Deputy Parliamentary Leader of the Alternative for Germany since July 2015 and a Member of the Bundestag since September 2017. She previously was a Member of ...
and
Alice Weidel Alice Elisabeth Weidel (; born 6 February 1979) is a German far-right politician who has been serving as of the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party alongside Tino Chrupalla since June 2022. Since October 2017, she has held ...
. In a speech addressing the group, Von Storch stated its objectives of advocating a balance between the
national-conservative National conservatism is a nationalism, nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding National identity, national and cultural identity, communitarianism and the public role of religion. It shares aspects of traditionalist c ...
and the
liberal-conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...
parts of the party, for talks between the camps, remembering the "historical responsibility from the Nazi era," support for Israel and observing red lines on extremism.Tilman Steffen
''Alternative, aber anders''
Zeit, 4 October 2017.
Alan Posener

WeltN24, 3 October 2017.
Sabine Am Orde
''"Alternative Mitte" gegen "Flügel"''
taz, 6 October 2017.
The AM published an open letter to members and federal delegates of the AfD in which they warned against electing people to the federal executive board who do not respect
liberal democratic basic order The liberal democratic basic order (, informal abbreviation or FDGO) is a fundamental term in German constitutional law. It determines the unalienable, invariable core structure of the German commonwealth. As such, it is the core substance of t ...
in Germany. In February 2018, the AM planned a rally in
Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...
but was forced to cancel the event after the owner of the venue received death threats and threats of protests by
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
activists. In March 2018, the group called on AfD to formally reject any collaboration between the party and PEGIDA founder
Lutz Bachmann Lutz Bachmann (born 26 January 1973) is the founder and leader of the Pegida movement, a far-right German political organisation linked to the anti-Muslim counter-jihad ideology. As leader of Pegida, Bachmann has led marches of tens of thousand ...
.Sebastian Hesse
''AfD ringt um Verhältnis zu Pegida''
MDR, 2 March 2018.


Reception

Journalist and author Matthias Kamann saw AM as an attempt to give those in the AfD a platform "who want it to be hard conservative, but factual - not ethnic or insulting. The fact that this voice has been missing so far is one of the many weaknesses of the party." On the other hand, commentator
Alan Posener Alan Posener (born 8 October 1949 in Hampstead, London) is a British- German journalist. He is the son of the architectural historian Julius Posener. Biography Posener is the son of a liberal German-Jewish family, while his mother is of Scotti ...
argued the AM was more about getting rid of the "yuck factor" rather than changing the ideological core of the party. Konrad Litschko of described AM as a "current of moderate forces in the AfD."Konrad Litschko
''Richtungskampf in der AfD: Angriff auf die "Mitte"''
taz, 26 October 2017.
Tilman Steffen wrote in that he considers the AM group to be
right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right populism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establishm ...
but does not espouse Volkish ethnic nationalism and presents itself as a moderate alternative to Björn Höcke and Goetz Kubitschek and rejects the integration of PEGIDA and the Identitarian Movement into the AfD.Tilman Steffen
''Alternative Mitte: Irgendwie weg vom "Igitt-Faktor"''
Zeit online, 23 April 2018
Writing in political analyst and journalist Pitt von Bebenburg described the AM's objective as "preserving the nation state within secure borders and thus the local homeland," but rejecting "nationalism, revisionism, totalitarianism or a
cult of personality A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader,Cas Mudde, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create ...
that rises above others."Pitt von Bebenburg
''Hessen-AfD droht der "Alternativen Mitte"''
Frankfurter Rundschau, 23 October 2017.


Notable people associated with AM

* Berengar Elsner von Gronow *
Beatrix von Storch Beatrix von Storch (; 27 May 1971) is a German politician and lawyer, who has been the Deputy Parliamentary Leader of the Alternative for Germany since July 2015 and a Member of the Bundestag since September 2017. She previously was a Member of ...
*
Alice Weidel Alice Elisabeth Weidel (; born 6 February 1979) is a German far-right politician who has been serving as of the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party alongside Tino Chrupalla since June 2022. Since October 2017, she has held ...
*
Uwe Witt Uwe Witt (born 1 October 1959 in Witten) is a German politician, serving as a member of the Bundestag since 2017. Formerly a member of Alternative for Germany (AfD), Witt resigned from the party in December 2021, citing extremist elements in the ...


References

{{Authority control 2017 establishments in Germany Political party factions in Germany Conservatism in Germany Euroscepticism in Germany Alternative for Germany National conservatism Right-wing populism in Germany Anti-Islam sentiment in Germany German nationalism Anti-globalization political parties Natalism