BREAKING NEWS

Split exposed in German far-right as AfD co-leader storms out

BERLIN - Frauke Petry, the co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) said on Monday she would not be part of the parliamentary group of her anti-immigrant party and stormed out of a news conference without answering questions.
Petry’s surprise announcement came after the AfD shocked the German establishment by scoring 12.6 percent in the national election on Sunday, meaning it will be the first far-right party to enter the German parliament in more than half a century.
“I think we should be open today that there is a disagreement over content in the AfD and I think we shouldn’t hush this up because society is calling for an open debate,” Petry told a joint news conference with other party leaders.
The party founded in 2013 by a group of academics opposed to the euro has long been riven by infighting and commentators have predicted that its divisions could be amplified by its entry onto the national political stage.