The German far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has called for “Dexit” – the country’s own version of Brexit. The party voted to campaign for the country’s exit from the European Union if its demand for reforms within the bloc are not met.
The January 13 vote was the first time any party in Germany called for “Dexit”.
As reported by the Agence France-Presse (AFP), delegates at a party congress in the eastern state of Saxony agreed that if the EU is not reshaped in line with the party’s ideas “in an appropriate timeframe”, Germany must leave the bloc, according to the draft manifesto for the forthcoming European parliament elections.
Congress attendees also voted through a call to abolish the European parliament. “We see nation states as having the exclusive competence to make laws,” the text said, attacking the “751 privileged members” of the present European house.
Like other nationalist movements around Europe, AfD leaders argue that too much power has been transferred to Brussels, saying the EU has far outgrown its origins in economic cooperation.
“We don’t need to abolish the EU, but bring it back to its sensible core,” the AfD co-leader Alexander Gauland told delegates on January 12 ahead of the vote, saying the party “has partners that would walk the path with us” such as Austria’s Freedom party and Italy’s League.
