Anti-immigration party in Germany chooses new leader

Tino Chrupalla, member of the Bundestag of the AfD, stands at the party conference of the AfD (Alternative for Germany) in Brunswick, Germany, Saturday, Nov.30, 2019. Germany’s anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party has elected a 44-year-old member of its parliamentary delegation as the party’s co-chairman.

The dpa news agency reported Tino Chrupalla was elected by a party conference in Braunschweig on Saturday to succeed Alexander Gauland as co-head of the party. Gauland did not seek re-election and backed Chrupalla. Gauland, 78, remains co-chair of the party’s delegation in the federal parliament, the Bundestag.

Joerg Meuthen was re-elected as the other party co-chair.

Chrupalla’s election was seen as an attempt to bring about a smooth succession and reduce intra-party squabbling, as occurred between Meuthen and former party co-chair Frauke Petry, who has since left the party.