AfD NRW Expels Bundestag Hardliner Helferich Over Extremist Posts

The arbitration panel of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in North Rhine-Westphalia has voted to expel Bundestag member Matthias Helferich from the party. The first-instance ruling, delivered on 5 July, cites ‘severe violations’ of the German constitution and party principles, including social-media posts in which the 36-year-old labelled German citizens with migrant backgrounds ‘Viecher’ and advocated their forced removal from the country. Under AfD rules, Helferich has 14 days to appeal to the party’s federal arbitration court and may also take the matter to a civil court. In a video statement he dismissed the proceeding as a political manoeuvre and said he is confident higher bodies will reinstate him. The move marks the climax of a long-running power struggle inside the NRW branch, whose comparatively moderate leadership under state chairman Martin Vincentz has sought to distance itself from members viewed as extremist. Helferich, a prominent ally of the party’s hard-right wing, re-entered the AfD Bundestag caucus after the snap federal election in February but has faced repeated attempts to remove him from office and membership.