The radical right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has officially broken with its youth wing Junge Alternative für Deutschland (JA). The decision followed after a two-thirds majority at the AfD party congress voted in favor.
The AfD board had previously wanted to break with the youth party, but needed a two-thirds majority at the party congress to do so. That was accomplished on Sunday. JA will be replaced by a new party, with the proposed name ‘Patritische Jugend’ (Patriotic Youth). Members of that new party must also be members of the AfD.
The intention is for the new youth branch to become less independent than JA, which is an independent association. According to the German news website RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland Only half of JA members are also members of the AfD. The youth wing is also more extreme than its parent party: a German judge categorized the JA as right-wing extremist, while AfD itself was labeled as “possibly right-wing extremist”. Both the AfD and the JA are contesting this decision.
According to the German newspaper Der Spiegel the break between the AfD and JA is also motivated by the fact that the JA could possibly be banned as an independent association. A more connected youth branch would be better protected against this.
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