Overview

• Deputy chair Sylvia Pantel released a video accusing party leader Hans-Georg Maaßen of autocratic and party-damaging conduct and of courting proximity to the AfD.
• Pantel says Maaßen removed the elected North Rhine-Westphalia leadership during a meeting with state chairs and installed four loyalists unlawfully, prompting planned legal action.
• In a statement, Maaßen called moves against him a "putsch," said cooperation with the current board is impossible, and suggested he may leave the party within weeks.
• The dispute follows months of internal friction and comes as the party, founded in February 2024, has posted only 0.2–0.6% in recent state elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg.
• Former AfD leader Jörg Meuthen joined the Werteunion in September 2024, intensifying debate over the party's positioning between the CDU and AfD.