According to a media report, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Rhineland‑Palatinate has instructed its representatives to establish local meeting points in every electoral district and to pay a penalty if they fail to comply. Sebastian Münzenmaier, the deputy chair of the AfD’s Bundestag caucus, told the Bild (Tuesday edition) that the party’s state conference has bound its members-both in the state and federal parliaments-to open a point of contact in each constituency, ideally a pub, for local residents. If a pub is not set up, each member must contribute a middle‑three‑digit monthly amount to a communal fund. Projects would then be implemented locally using money from that pot. Münzenmaier stressed the slogan “Politics from the village for the village” underscoring the party’s aim to strengthen its presence in rural areas and attract new voters.
The plan has drawn criticism from the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Dirk Wiese, the parliamentary manager of the SPD’s Bundestag group, told the Bild that pub‑style conversations have long been the standard in his circles. He said the AfD is simply copying what already exists, adding that in an AfD gathering the beer tends to be weak, many people laugh in the cellar, and that many respondents likely stay home because they are overwhelmed by hateful comments on the screen.