In our report yesterday on the German federal elections, we pointed out that
The AfD itself, however, is split between pragmatic politicians willing to compromise with other parties and right-wing nationalists who are expected to use the platform offered by the Bundestag to announce principled opposition based on outright racist slogans.
At the AfD’s post-election press conference today, one of the party’s co-leaders, Frauke Petry, duly announced her resignation from the party, accusing it of being a purely protest party which would alienate voters instead of trying to form an alternative government.
Instead of taking up her Bundestag mandate as a member of the AfD, she will enter the national parliament as an independent.
It remains to be seen if Petry will try to form another, more moderate right-wing party, and if other more moderate party members will follow her.