Weckruf 2015

Weckruf 2015 was a German political association (Verein) founded on 18 May 2015 on the initiative of Bernd Lucke, then a prominent figure in the Alternative for Germany (AfD). The association emerged from a power struggle within the AfD and aimed to preserve the party as a force representing conservative, liberal, and social values in a factual and constructive manner. Its founding declaration was signed by five of the seven AfD Members of the European Parliament (Hans-Olaf Henkel, Bernd Kölmel, Bernd Lucke, Ulrike Trebesius, and Joachim Starbatty), five AfD state parliament members, and other party officials. The association was open to non-AfD members and, according to its own statements, attracted around 4,000 prospective members by June 2015 out of approximately 21,000 party members. It explicitly rejected xenophobic, racist, nationalist, antisemitic, Islamophobic, Islamist, homophobic, and radical left or right positions. Ulrike Trebesius served as chairwoman. After Bernd Lucke's defeat in the AfD leadership election at the Essen party conference in July 2015, the association polled its supporters under the name 'Neustart 2015'; about 2,600 of the 4,000 prospective members participated, and roughly 71% favored founding a new party. Consequently, on 19 July 2015 in Kassel, the Allianz für Fortschritt und Aufbruch (ALFA, later Liberal-Konservative Reformer) was founded, with Lucke as chairman and Trebesius as the first general secretary. The association became defunct after its purpose was overtaken by the new party. The AfD federal arbitration court initially ruled on 23 June 2015 that the association must be dissolved, but reversed that decision on 25 June 2015, finding it not in violation of the party statutes. In July 2015, the newly elected AfD federal board decided that membership in Weckruf was incompatible with AfD membership. The association was seen by some as a step toward a party split and was criticized by AfD figures such as Frauke Petry. Political scientist Hajo Funke described it as 'the beginning of the end of the AfD.'

Weckruf 2015 was founded on 18 May 2015 as a non-registered association (nicht eingetragener Verein) on the initiative of Bernd Lucke, at the time a leading figure in the Alternative for Germany (AfD). The founding declaration was signed by five of the seven AfD Members of the European Parliament (Hans-Olaf Henkel, Bernd Kölmel, Bernd Lucke, Ulrike Trebesius, and Joachim Starbatty), five AfD state parliament members (three from Thuringia, one each from Hamburg and Bremen), and other party officials and former officials. The association was open to non-AfD members according to its statutes. By June 2015, it claimed approximately 4,000 prospective members from among the roughly 21,000 party members, though this figure was viewed with skepticism given the internal party conflicts and the aftermath of the Essen party conference. The association explicitly rejected xenophobic, racist, nationalist, antisemitic, Islamophobic, Islamist, homophobic, and radical left or right positions. Ulrike Trebesius served as chairwoman. After Bernd Lucke's political defeat in the election for AfD chairmanship at the Essen party conference in July 2015, and as the goals of Weckruf 2015 could not be realized there, the association's prospective members were polled about founding a new party. In the survey named 'Neustart 2015', about 2,600 of the 4,000 prospective members participated according to the association, and just under 71% favored founding a new party. About 47% could imagine financially supporting the new party, and around 44% would have liked to work in the new party. After sufficient support was organized, the Allianz für Fortschritt und Aufbruch (ALFA, later Liberal-Konservative Reformer) was founded on 19 July 2015 in Kassel. Bernd Lucke became chairman and Ulrike Trebesius the first general secretary of the party. On 23 June 2015, a single judge of the AfD federal arbitration court ruled that the association must be immediately dissolved by the AfD federal board, arguing that the association was making directional decisions reserved for a federal party conference. Lucke criticized the ruling as 'legally untenable', while Frauke Petry welcomed the decision and stated that 'as many misled Weckruf members as possible must be reintegrated into the party.' She called the 'Weckruf party association' 'the attempt by a minority to destroy internal party democracy.' Chairwoman Ulrike Trebesius stated that, contrary to the arbitration court's assumption, it was not an association exclusively for AfD members but an independent association that could not be dissolved by the AfD federal board. On 25 June 2015, upon application by the federal board, the federal arbitration court decided that the association was not in violation of the party statutes. According to Lucke, the federal board subsequently decided that AfD members were free to join the association. In July 2015, the newly elected AfD federal board decided that Weckruf association membership was incompatible with AfD membership, though this did not apply to former supporters of Weckruf. The association was understood and criticized by parts of the party as a call for party exit and subsequent re-founding by initiator and AfD party chairman Bernd Lucke in the event of a defeat against his rival for the position of first speaker of the AfD, Frauke Petry. Political scientist Hajo Funke held the view that the association was 'the beginning of the end of the AfD.' With the departure of the protagonists from the AfD and the subsequent founding of the ALFA party, the purpose of the association was overtaken.

• Founded as a non-registered association on the initiative of Bernd Lucke.

• AfD federal arbitration court single judge rules the association must be dissolved.

• AfD federal arbitration court reverses the dissolution ruling, finding the association not in violation of party statutes.

• Newly elected AfD federal board decides Weckruf membership is incompatible with AfD membership.

• Allianz für Fortschritt und Aufbruch (ALFA) founded in Kassel; Bernd Lucke chairman, Ulrike Trebesius general secretary.

1. 1Weckruf 2015 – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
2. 2Weckruf 2015 – Wikidatawikidata.org