AfD Members Attend Event in Switzerland, ‘Correctiv’ Seeks to Brand AfD as Right-Wing Extremist and a Threat to Democracy
AfD members Roger Beckamp and Lena Kotré gave lectures on the topic of “Remigration” in Switzerland in mid-December, co-organized by members of the Swiss youth organization “Junge Tat”.
In a recent article, the “Correctiv” editorial team attempted to brand the AfD as “right-wing extremist” and “democracy-threatening”, citing the event as evidence. Green Party politicians have taken up the content of the report to demand the prohibition of the AfD.
According to the “Correctiv” article, the event was not secret, but was publicly advertised and took place under strict security measures. The article dramatically reported that a “Correctiv” team member managed to attend the event.
The co-organizer, “Junge Tat”, was, however, founded in 2020 from various right-wing extremist organizations in Switzerland, as stated in the Federal Government’s response to a question from the Left Party in November 2023. Moreover, alleged members of the banned “Blood-and-Honour” movement were spotted at the event, which the article argues confirms the right-wing extremist views of the two AfD members.
Regarding the alleged content of the lectures, the article states: “Beckamp and Kotré spoke a lot about ‘Remigration’ in the evening. The term is a classic among the völkisch-racist euphemisms. Beckamp recommends young activists to get in touch with their great-grandparents: Who would they vote for today, and how would they look at our country today? All classic themes of the neo-Nazi scene.”
The article was published on the “Correctiv” website on December 27. Three days later, it was reported in T-Online that Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt (Green Party) is calling for the initiation of a ban procedure against the AfD, citing the research as showing “once again how dangerous the AfD is”.
The Welt, part of the Springer group, added that Green Party MP Kassem Taher Saleh also called for the ban procedure to be forced, stating that “we cannot wait any longer”. Göring-Eckardt was quoted as saying: “Together with neo-Nazis, openly aggressive actions are being taken against the free and democratic constitutional order of the Federal Republic of Germany.”
Other headlines on the renewed anti-AfD campaign by the platform “Correctiv”, which is also financed by foreign oligarchs, read:
Tagesschau: New Correctiv Research – AfD Politicians Allegedly Met with Neo-Nazis
Deutschlandfunk: Right-Wing Extremist Meeting in Switzerland – Politicians Call for the Initiation of an AfD Ban Procedure
RBB: AfD MP Kotré Confirms Attendance at Neo-Nazi Meeting
Roger Beckamp confirmed his attendance as a guest lecturer to the WDR, and the MP published his lecture on YouTube on December 28. Lena Kotré commented on the media accusations and the event, including the contents of her lecture, stating that “Correctiv” had filmed something that the participants had professionally recorded and put online unfiltered, as had already been done by her party colleague.
Göring-Eckardt now recognizes, as reported in the media, “sufficient grounds for the assumption that the party is allegedly unconstitutional”. Therefore, the “protection of the constitution, as provided for in the Basic Law, should be taken into account in a timely manner”. A procedure to examine the constitutionality of the AfD should be initiated, according to Göring-Eckardt’s perception.