Frohnmaier plans to travel to the Russian capital in the spring. – I think it is important to keep channels of communication open, he said on RTL television. The announcement of such intentions sparked criticism in Germany from politicians of the ruling coalition of CDU/CSU and SPD.
An AfD politician goes to Moscow. “Red lights should come on”
— The AfD has always been a threat to national security because a significant number of its members behave submissively towards the enemies of our democracy, in particular towards Vladimir Putin, said Marc Henrichmann, chairman of the parliamentary body controlling the German intelligence services, in an interview with the Handelsblatt daily published on Monday. He added: “all red lights should light up in the Bundestag.”
The article continues below the video
Another CDU MP, Roderich Kiesewetter, called on the AfD leadership to “prevent Frohnmaier's trip.”
Criticism of Frohnmaier in the Bundestag also comes from the Social Democrats. Sebastian Fiedler, representing the SPD, said that “there is no doubt” that the AfD politician “maintains constant contacts with Russia and is part of a broad Russian influence operation.”
Germany concerned about Russia's actions. “Hot confrontation”
Frohnmaier is a 33-year-old politician from the extreme AfD faction, who is considered a close associate of the group's co-chair Alice Weidel. He has been a member of the Bundestag since 2017, representing Baden-Württemberg.
Earlier over the weekend, AfD co-chairman Tino Chrupalla stated in a recording posted on the X website: “We want to repair Nord Stream, restart it. We will be happy to share cheap gas with Poland.”
German politicians in the government coalition, headed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, openly express great concern about Russia's actions, especially in the face of the detection of drone swarms over German territory. The head of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Martin Jaeger, told the Bundestag on Monday that a “heated confrontation” with Russia was possible at any time. In his opinion, the Kremlin is trying to bring Europe to a “state of resignation”.
The largest German political parties have been isolating the AfD on the national stage for years, accusing its activists of radicalism and right-wing populism, as well as maintaining contacts with Russians. In the last parliamentary elections, Alternative for Germany obtained 20.8 percent. votes and it was the second best result after the CDU/CSU coalition with the support of 28.5 percent. Currently, in some polls the AfD is already an independent leader.
