A long-time enemy of Alice Weidel in the AfD is leaving the party and parliamentary group. And with a bang: he clearly criticizes the party leader and designated candidate for chancellor.
Dirk Spaniel has already held many positions in the AfD: he was state leader in Baden-Württemberg and until recently he was transport policy spokesman for the parliamentary group in the Bundestag. But he filled one unofficial position with particular passion: that of the last prominent public critic of party leader Alice Weidel – in the federal party as well as in the common home association.
On Tuesday, Spaniel announced – first verbally in the group meeting, then by email to the group leadership – that he would be leaving the party and group “with immediate effect”. The letter is available on t-online. In it, he primarily cites “untruths and the exploitation of party resources” as the reasons for his resignation, as well as the prevention of the formation of opinions within the party before a meeting in Baden-Württemberg in order to “specifically create a mood against me”.
“Everyone can imagine what happens when people come to power in Germany, who already undermine the free formation of opinions and democratic processes within the party and demand practically unconditional personal loyalty to party leaders,” Spaniel continues. He doesn’t want to support that. And: “Wrong politics essentially comes from looking the other way.”
Spaniel’s criticism is aimed at party leader Alice Weidel and her supporters in Baden-Württemberg, such as state leader Markus Frohnmaier. This is no secret in the AfD; Spaniel is considered a bitter competitor to Weidel, who after him temporarily led the regional association in the southwest.
Spaniel became even clearer in a conversation with the media, including t-online, in the afternoon after his announcement: he said that it was about “intra-party democracy”. “I didn’t want this regional association to be run like a farm.” But apparently he now has too few comrades-in-arms for that. “Obviously the lady can do whatever she wants on the estate.”
Unfortunately, one must currently state: “In the AfD it is no different than in other parties, but perhaps a little more blatant,” Spaniel continued. The still young party lacks the “corrective element” of established power structures. “This leads to totalitarian crackdowns.”
At the assembly meeting in Ulm on October 5th, which Spaniel criticized so much, Weidel was placed first on the state list for the 2025 federal election with 86.5 percent approval. In the following places, it was clearly only Weidel allies who won. Spaniel itself lost in the fight for fifth place on the list with only 26.9 percent approval. The previous members of the Bundestag, Jürgen Braun and Christina Baum, also failed in their applications.
There had already been sharp criticism of the state executive board from the Spaniel camp in advance: the district executive committee, which was sympathetic to it, had made explicit election recommendations for Weidel allies via mailing lists in large district associations. In some associations, bus rides and hotel accommodation were also offered, and in at least two district associations, travel subsidies of 100 to 150 euros per party conference weekend were also offered. Corresponding evidence is available on t-online. The accusation from Weidel critics: cheap vote-catching, yes, even vote-buying.