Losing friends: AfD co-leader Chrupalla recommends US should start removing its troops from Germany

Summary

Comment: Subtext: "We don't want to be a target." Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-chair Tino Chrupalla spoke out in favor of withdrawing American troops from Germany. During a party congress in Saxony, he stressed that, if AfD comes to power, this should be the first step in implementing the party's program, which calls for the removal of all allied forces from Germany and a withdrawal from NATO's nuclear weapons sharing system. "Let's start implementing this program by withdrawing U.S. troops," he said, as reported by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, cited by Do Rzeczy. The proposal received loud applause by the audience. Chrupalla also argued that Germany should not be involved in international military operations, praising Spain for opposing U.S. use of its bases for its conflict with Iran. "And that is exactly right. Spain is not interfering in this war," he said. His criticism of American troops on German soil comes after his sharp criticism of Trump's decision to launch a war against Iran. "I am extremely disappointed in Donald Trump when it comes to his campaign promises," Chrupalla during an appearance on Markus Lanz earlier this month. "During the election campaign, he also accused Kamala Harris, that she would start World War III. And now we are on the cusp of having probably started the Third World War with Donald Trump. And that's a breach of his word, which I really resent and which the American people also resent, who incidentally reject this war in Iran at a much higher rate than Germans. So, 70 percent of Americans do not want this war and do not support it."Chrupalla also stated it was clear the United States was dragged into the war by Israel. "And I think the Americans, as you can really see now if you look at all the events, were dragged into this war by Israel. There were serious negotiations where Oman, as a peacemaker, came to an agreement with Israel together with the USA, and they basically started bombing Iran on the same day. The Omani Foreign Minister has described this as a huge mistake. The entire Arab world has labeled it a mistake. The Norwegian Foreign Minister has described it as a mistake. It has also been labelled a mistake by Turkey. You can't ignore all that. These are all countries in this region that are naturally extremely worried that this will escalate into a conflagration. And that's what we're seeing now. It's a huge wildfire."In his most recent speech, Chrupalla also addressed Russia's war against Ukraine. He announced that the AfD would "bring about peace" and that after the conflict ends, Ukrainians in Germany should return to their home country, criticizing the current refugee benefits system. "This is exactly what must end. All Ukrainians must go back," he said Chrupalla's speech made it clear that the AfD aims to take power in Germany, at both the state and national levels. "We must develop, moving from an opposition party to a governing party," he said during the party convention in Löbau, as quoted by Deutsche Welle. Germany's next federal elections will take place only in March 2029. At that time, Chrupalla plans for the AfD to have a prime minister in Saxony and an AfD chancellor as the leader of Germany. Chrupalla also admitted that this requires further capacity-building and preparing party structures for governance. Noting that AfD must no longer be perceived as a single-issue party, presumably referring to its focus on implementing mass deportations, and must demonstrate concrete results in government going forward. "At some point, we will have to present our voters with successes," he emphasized. According to Bild reports, the party has already begun organizational preparations to take over the government by establishing a special working group for participation in the government.