The AfD has changed its press registration form for the party's congress in Hanover following a controversial attempt to access "special data" from journalists — including information on political views and ethnicity.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K.-D. Gabbert
Advertisement
The friendly faces of the AfD? Germany's new parliamentary representatives
After the 2017 election, the far-right populist party enters the Bundestag for the first time. But who exactly are some of the Alternative for Germany's representatives — and what have they said and done?
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/E. Contini
Siegbert Droese
The head of the AfD in Leipzig was the center of controversy in 2016 when newspapers reported that a car in his motor pool had the license plate: "AH 1818." "AH" are the initials of Adolf Hitler. 1 and 8, the first and eighth letters of the alphabet, are considered a code for Adolf Hitler among neo-Nazi groups.
Image: Imago/J. Jeske
Sebastian Münzenmaier
As the AfD's lead candidate in Rhineland-Palatinate, the 28-year-old Münzenmaier cruised to a seat in the Bundestag. Münzenmaier made headlines in October when he was convicted of being an accessory to assault in a case of football hooliganism. But because that's considered a minor offense, he is able to exercise his mandate.
Image: Imago/S. Ditscher
Albrecht Glaser
The 75-year-old former CDU man is the AfD's choice for Bundestag vice-president, but members of the other parties say they won't approve his candidacy. Glaser once opined that Muslims shouldn't enjoy freedom of religion because Islam is a political ideology. Critics reject that view as unconstitutional.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kappeler
Markus Frohnmaier
Frohnmaier is the chair of the party's youth organization, Junge Alternative. The 28-year-old wrote in August 2016 on Facebook that "our generation will suffer the most" from Merkel's decision to "flood this country with the shoddy proletariat from Africa and the Orient."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Weißbrod
Martin Reichardt
The former soldier from Lower Saxony once told a journalist that he had no problem with "Germany for the Germans," a phrase that is often used by neo-Nazi groups. He has also collectively described the Green Party and The Left party as "constitutional enemy No. 1."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Bein
Wilhelm von Gottberg
The 77-year-old from Brandenburg was vice president of the Federation of Expellees (BdV) until 2012. He wrote in the newspaper "Ostpreussenblatt" in 2001 that he agreed with the statement that the Holocaust was a "myth" and an "effective instrument to criminalize the Germans and their history."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Brakemeier
Jens Maier
In January, the Dresden judge railed against the "creation of mixed nationalities" that are "destroying national identity." He has also called for an end to Germany's "culture of guilt" surrounding the country's actions in the Second World War.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Kahnert
Beatrix von Storch
The AfD's vice-chair is an MP in the European parliament and is known for her hardline conservative views. In 2016, she replied affirmatively to a Facebook user who had asked her whether armed force should be used to stop women with children from illegally entering Germany. She later apologized for the comment.
Image: Reuters/W. Rattay
Alexander Gauland
One of the AfD's top candidates, Gauland was widely criticized after suggesting that the German government's commissioner for integration, Aydan Özoguz, should be "disposed of" in Turkey because she had said that there was no specifically German culture beyond the German language.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Murat
Alice Weidel
The 38-year-old economist was the AfD's other top candidate. Despite living in Switzerland, Weidel ran for the Baden-Württemberg constituency of Bodensee. She drew criticism for describing Germany's integration commissioner Aydan Özoguz, who has Turkish roots, as a "stain" and a "disgrace." In a contested email attributed to Weidel, she called Angela Merkel's government "pigs" and "puppets."
Image: Getty Images/S. Schuermann
Frauke Petry
For a long time Frauke Petry was the face of the AfD, and she's one of the more recognizable figures in the Bundestag. But she's no longer a member of the right-wing populist party. Petry quit shortly after the election after falling out with other leaders. Because she won her voting district outright, she still gets a Bundestag mandate, where she sits as an independent.
Image: picture-alliance/Eventpress
11 images1 | 11
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, backed down on Saturday from its bid for data on journalists' religious beliefs and political views after initially making it a requirement for accessing their upcoming national party conference.
AfD party spokesman Christian Lüth downplayed the controversy over the registration form on Saturday, writing on Twitter: "Test version deleted. Starting immediately, journalists can use the official registration form on our website."
The German newspaper Stuttgarter Zeitung first reported on the curious registration requirement on Friday.
Journalists registering online to cover the AfD's national congress in December were previously asked to check a "declaration of consent" box where they agree to the "collection, storage and use" of personal information.
In addition to the basic requirements like name and press pass number, journalists were also required to agree to the collection of "special data."
In the text, the AfD points to Paragraph 9 of Germany's data protection law, which defines "special data" as information on racial and ethnic backgrounds, political views, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, health or sexual orientation.
The AfD noted "political views" as an example in their text, although they did not ask for that information in the online registration form. The party stated the data "will only be used for the purposes of the party's work."
The area was marked as required in order to complete registration for the event, meaning no journalist could sign up without agreeing to allow the AfD to collect the information.
The AfD frequently criticizes mainstream news outlets for publishing "fake news" Image: picture-alliance/dpa/G. Fischer
Investigation underway
According to the Stuttgarter Zeitung, Berlin's data protection officer was looking into the matter.
If the AfD intended to gather additional personal data from journalists that was not specifically outlined in the original online form, it would be improper for the party to make access to the party conference dependent on agreeing to the terms, a data protection office spokeswoman told the paper.
Officials believed the AfD's "declaration of consent" text resulted from a mix-up rather than an intentional attempt to collect information on journalists. The same passage is frequently used in applications for political party membership, where it is acceptable to ask the political opinions of the applicant, the Stuttgarter Zeitung reported.
Whether a mistake or not, the German Journalists Association did not take the AfD's press accreditation requirement lightly.
"This is an unacceptable intrusion into the private affairs of journalists," Hendrik Zörner, spokesman for the German Journalists Association, told the newspaper.
The AfD won 12.6 percent of the vote during Germany's general election on September 24, making it the third-largest party in the Bundestag and the first far-right group to enter parliament in over half a century.
The AfD will hold its national party conference on December 2 in the city of Hanover.
The friendly faces of the AfD? Germany's new parliamentary representatives
After the 2017 election, the far-right populist party enters the Bundestag for the first time. But who exactly are some of the Alternative for Germany's representatives — and what have they said and done?
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/E. Contini
Siegbert Droese
The head of the AfD in Leipzig was the center of controversy in 2016 when newspapers reported that a car in his motor pool had the license plate: "AH 1818." "AH" are the initials of Adolf Hitler. 1 and 8, the first and eighth letters of the alphabet, are considered a code for Adolf Hitler among neo-Nazi groups.
Image: Imago/J. Jeske
Sebastian Münzenmaier
As the AfD's lead candidate in Rhineland-Palatinate, the 28-year-old Münzenmaier cruised to a seat in the Bundestag. Münzenmaier made headlines in October when he was convicted of being an accessory to assault in a case of football hooliganism. But because that's considered a minor offense, he is able to exercise his mandate.
Image: Imago/S. Ditscher
Albrecht Glaser
The 75-year-old former CDU man is the AfD's choice for Bundestag vice-president, but members of the other parties say they won't approve his candidacy. Glaser once opined that Muslims shouldn't enjoy freedom of religion because Islam is a political ideology. Critics reject that view as unconstitutional.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kappeler
Markus Frohnmaier
Frohnmaier is the chair of the party's youth organization, Junge Alternative. The 28-year-old wrote in August 2016 on Facebook that "our generation will suffer the most" from Merkel's decision to "flood this country with the shoddy proletariat from Africa and the Orient."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Weißbrod
Martin Reichardt
The former soldier from Lower Saxony once told a journalist that he had no problem with "Germany for the Germans," a phrase that is often used by neo-Nazi groups. He has also collectively described the Green Party and The Left party as "constitutional enemy No. 1."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Bein
Wilhelm von Gottberg
The 77-year-old from Brandenburg was vice president of the Federation of Expellees (BdV) until 2012. He wrote in the newspaper "Ostpreussenblatt" in 2001 that he agreed with the statement that the Holocaust was a "myth" and an "effective instrument to criminalize the Germans and their history."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Brakemeier
Jens Maier
In January, the Dresden judge railed against the "creation of mixed nationalities" that are "destroying national identity." He has also called for an end to Germany's "culture of guilt" surrounding the country's actions in the Second World War.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Kahnert
Beatrix von Storch
The AfD's vice-chair is an MP in the European parliament and is known for her hardline conservative views. In 2016, she replied affirmatively to a Facebook user who had asked her whether armed force should be used to stop women with children from illegally entering Germany. She later apologized for the comment.
Image: Reuters/W. Rattay
Alexander Gauland
One of the AfD's top candidates, Gauland was widely criticized after suggesting that the German government's commissioner for integration, Aydan Özoguz, should be "disposed of" in Turkey because she had said that there was no specifically German culture beyond the German language.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Murat
Alice Weidel
The 38-year-old economist was the AfD's other top candidate. Despite living in Switzerland, Weidel ran for the Baden-Württemberg constituency of Bodensee. She drew criticism for describing Germany's integration commissioner Aydan Özoguz, who has Turkish roots, as a "stain" and a "disgrace." In a contested email attributed to Weidel, she called Angela Merkel's government "pigs" and "puppets."
Image: Getty Images/S. Schuermann
Frauke Petry
For a long time Frauke Petry was the face of the AfD, and she's one of the more recognizable figures in the Bundestag. But she's no longer a member of the right-wing populist party. Petry quit shortly after the election after falling out with other leaders. Because she won her voting district outright, she still gets a Bundestag mandate, where she sits as an independent.
