Overview
- Thuringia AfD chief Björn Höcke told a Weltwoche podcast that “in the western republic live German‑speaking Americans” while “in the east live German‑speaking Germans,” a remark published in early June that revived ethnonational language.
- Multiple outlets reported that the exact formulation likely echoes a 2023 comment by RT editor Margarita Simonyan, showing how foreign pro‑Kremlin messaging has circulated into German right‑wing discourse.
- The comments prompted open criticism inside the AfD, with senior figures including Beatrix von Storch, Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel distancing themselves or calling the wording wrong, exposing an ongoing directional struggle in the party.
- Reporters and analysts noted Höcke’s past convictions for using banned extremist symbols and the Verfassungsschutz’s right‑wing‑extremist classification of his Thuringia wing, a context that intensified media scrutiny of the interview.
- Observers warn the episode could both energize Höcke’s core supporters in the east and alienate voters in the west, a risk that matters for the AfD’s prospects in September state votes such as the Sachsen‑Anhalt election.