Bundestag’s Vice President Rejects AfD’s Allegations of Disadvantage
In a recent development, the Vice President of the German Bundestag, Omid Nouripour of the Green Party, has dismissed the AfD’s claims of being disadvantaged in the allocation of Bundestag rooms.
During an interview with the German television channel ntv, Nouripour emphasized that “one does not need to create a victim’s story out of every problem.” He, however, extended an invitation to the AfD for further discussions, stating that as the chairman of the Bau- und Raumkommission, he would be more than happy to offer solutions if a fraction were to face difficulties with a room.
The AfD has been claiming a larger meeting room previously occupied by the SPD, citing the significant difference in the number of seats between the two parties. The SPD, now with 121 members and the AfD, now with 150 members, have been at odds over the issue. Nouripour pointed out that “election results in themselves do not create a right to specific rooms” and that the SPD’s argument, that as a governing party it needs to accommodate regular representatives of the ministries in the meeting room, is “understandable.”
The Bundestag’s Elder Council made a majority decision on Thursday to allocate the former FDP meeting room to the AfD. Nouripour recalled that during the previous legislative period, the Green Party, with 118 members, had used a room previously occupied by the FDP, which had 80 members at the time.