The Blue Party (Germany)

The Blue Party[1] (German: Die blaue Partei) was a national-conservative[2] political party in Germany that was founded on the initiative of the former leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), Frauke Petry, after she left the party following the 2017 federal election.[4] The party presented itself as more moderate than the AfD, and aimed to attract social conservatives, right-wing liberals and former AfD members to join the party.[5] As of 22 October 2017, the party had one member in the Bundestag, one in the state parliament of Saxony and four members in the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia.[5] The party was officially chaired by Michael Muster.[2] In November 2019, the party dissolved.[6]

The Blue Party

Die blaue Partei
LeaderFrauke Petry
Deputy LeadersThomas Strobel[1]
Hubertus von Below[1]
Michael Muster
FounderMichael Muster (legally)
Founded17 September 2017[1]
Dissolved31 December 2019
Split fromAlternative for Germany
HeadquartersBerlin, Germany[1]
Think tankThe Blue Change
(Die Blaue Wende)
IdeologyNational conservatism[2]
Economic liberalism[3]
National liberalism
Euroscepticism
Political positionRight-wing
Colours     Blue
Website
dieblauepartei.de

History
Frauke Petry, was the leader of The Blue Party

Frauke Petry was elected leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) on 4 July 2015. However, internal disputes within the AfD in the run-up to the 2017 federal election saw Petry stand down as leader to be replaced by Björn Höcke from the party's far-right wing.[7] Petry and Höcke both attempted to exclude each other from the party, with Petry accusing Höcke and his supporters of being extremists. However, Petry decided she would still stand at the federal election. In the run-up to the election, Petry registered a website and a political party under the name die Blauen, sparking speculation that she would join her new party.[8]

Petry left the AfD immediately after being elected in September 2017, but announced that she would be an independent.[9] This changed in October 2017, when Petry officially announced the founding of the Blue Party.[10]

Petry became the first Blue Party member in the Bundestag and, because of her dual mandate, the first Blue Party member in the Landtag of Saxony. She was shortly joined by her husband Marcus Pretzell, a representative in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, and three other NRW representatives: Alexander Langguth, Frank Neppe and Anette Schultner. Petry stated that the party hopes to compete in the 2019 state election in Saxony.[11]

Party leader Petry declared on 5 November 2019 that the party would dissolve by the end of the year. The reason given for this decision was the poor election results in the state elections in the same year. Neither in Saxony nor in Thuringia did the party manage to enter the parliaments. The resolution to dissolve the party was passed at the member party conference in Döben.[6]

Ideology

The Blue Party's policies were similar to those of the moderate wing of the AfD, with Deutsche Welle claiming the party "appears to have borrowed heavily from the AfD playbook".[10] Like the AfD, the Blue Party demanded stronger border controls, restrictions on asylum, and no dual nationality. The Blue Party denounced "political Islam", but does not endorse the AfD's claim that there is no place for Islam in Germany.[10]

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References
  1. "Die blaue Partei" (PDF). bundeswahlleiter.de (in German). 2017-10-25. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  2. "Neue konservative Partei: Petry bekennt sich öffentlich zur Gründung der "Blauen Partei"". mdr.de (in German). 2017-10-12. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  3. "Programmatik". Blaue-Wende.de (in German). Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  4. "Bundeswahlleiter bestätigt Gründung der "Blauen Partei"" (in German). Der Tagesspiegel. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  5. Stoldt, Till-Reimer (22 October 2017). "Die AfD-Erosion ist in vollem Gange" (in German). Welt. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  6. "Ex-Vorsitzende der AfD: Frauke Petry kündigt Ende ihrer "Blauen Partei" an". Spiegel. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  7. Troianovski, Anton (23 April 2017). "Head of Germany's Upstart Anti-Immigrant Party Pushed Aside" – via www.wsj.com.
  8. "AfD defectors led by Frauke Petry hint at breakaway party". Deutsche Welle. 29 September 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  9. "Party of one: Petry abandons AfD to enter Bundestag alone". Deutsche Welle. 29 September 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  10. "Ex-AfD chief Frauke Petry unveils new conservative 'Blue party'". Deutsche Welle. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  11. ""Tillichs Rücktritt stärkt die blaue Wende"". Sächsische Zeitung. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
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