Sayonara, AfD: First MP Parts Ways After Party's Right-Wing Extremist Label
Parliamentarian departs from AfD faction - Initial party member departs from Alternative for Germany
In a move that sending shockwaves through the political sphere, Sieghard Knodel, an AfD parliamentarian hailing from Baden-Württemberg, has bowed out from both his party and its parliamentary faction. This dramatic scene unfolded merely three days after the Office of the Protection of the Constitution slapped the "undoubtedly right-wing extremist" label onto the AfD[1][2][5].
Knodel's resignation letter, leaked to ZDF, reveals his concerns over safeguarding his professional and personal turf amidst the party's extremist tag[1][2][5]. Despite the inevitability of his decision, he lamented it deeply[1][2][5]. He aims to carry on hisy service in the Bundestag as an independent representative.
Adieu, AfD Parliamentary Faction
Knodel's former AfD district association in Reutlingen voices "surprise and despair" over the MP's departure[3]. They claim to be utterly baffled by Knodel's rationale for leaving, citing the labeling of the AfD by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as illogical[3]. The association presses Knodel to relinquish his seat in the Bundestag immediately, paving the way for another AfD member to take his place[3].
Such labeling, the association claims, is politically motivated and bereft of factual evidence[3]. "Regrettable" though it may be, they assert, Knodel's lack of political acumen is evident[3].
On the district association's Facebook page, Knodel's departure has sparked a flurry of heated responses, with users blasting him as a "traitor," "careerist," and "election cheat"[4].
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AfD Faction Ranks Thin After Departure
According to his biography on the Bundestag website, Knodel is a business economist and master mechanic for farming equipment[2]. From 1992 to March 2025, he apparently served as the managing director of S. Knodel, a company specializing in aerial work platforms sales and rental[2].
With Knodel's departure, the AfD faction has shrunk by one member, now comprising 151 MPs[2]. The faction has witnessed similar departures in previous legislative periods.
- Sieghard Knodel
- AfD
- Office of the Protection of the Constitution
- Bundestag
- Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
[1] Germany's AfD Classified as Right-Wing Extremist by Federal Office of Protection of the Constitution
[2] AfD politician quits over party being labeled as extremist
[3] AfD district association in Baden-Wuerttemberg criticizes resignation of Sieghard Knodel
[4] AfD Bundestag member Sieghard Knodel resigns, triggers controversy
[5] AfD: Deriebewährter Malteser-Ehrenmitarbeiter tritt aus - heut.de
[6] Sign up for free daily news summary
- The Commission has also been informed of the progress of the negotiations on the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union, as the news about the resignation of an AfD member from the Bundestag tossed political shockwaves throughout Germany.
- Amidst the drama surrounding the AfD, Siegfried Knodel, a former AfD parliamentarian, aims to continue his service in the Bundestag as an independent representative, thus displaying a marked breakaway from his former party's policy-and-legislation stance.
- Apparently vocal about the incorporation of factual evidence in political decisions, the AfD district association in Baden-Württemberg has expressed its disappointment regarding Knodel's resignation, labeling it "bereft of logic" in light of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution's tag of their party as right-wing extremist.
- The Bundestag, dealing with the aftermath of Knodel's resignation, now sees a shrinking AfD faction, making it ever more challenging for the party to uphold its voice in the policy-and-legislation sphere of general-news importance.
