Chairwoman of Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) party Frauke Petry (1st R),AfD's federal spokesman Joerg Meuthen (4th R), candidates for the general election Alexander Gauland (3rd R) and Alice Weidel attend a press conference after the general election in Berlin, capital of Germany, on Sept. 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
BERLIN, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Euro-sceptic and right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) has accused France of "undermining German sovereignty" in its first parliamentary resolution on Wednesday night.
According to the AfD, the proposals for a reform of the European Union (EU) made recently by French President Emmanuel Macron would weaken the powers of the German government in favor of Brussels and make the country liable for the debts of other EU members.
Amongst many other proposals, Macron had outlined ideas for the creation of a shared Eurozone budget, parliament and finance minister. He ruled out the mutualisation of pre-existing debt however.
Responding to a public appeal by German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier to maintain a moderate and democratic culture of discussion, AfD co-faction leader Alexander Gauland said he did not feel like the words were addressed to him.
Gauland has caused widespread controversy with comments which have been described as racially-incendiary and glorifying Germany's Nazi past. He recently suggested that Germans could be proud of the "achievements" of German soldiers in World War II.
Gauland's co-faction leader Alice Weidel expressed confidence that plans to found a new party floated by the AfD's now isolated former chairwoman Frauke Petry and her husband Marcus Pretzell would falter.
Weidel said that the AfD was "not worried at all" about Petry posing a threat to the party's political prospects after her defection. Petry lacked the persuasive powers to build a successful party, she added.
Despite Weidel's upbeat tone, the AfD's faction leadership experienced a setback in the appointment of four parliamentary chairs for the party. Markus Frohnmaier, the candidate proposed by Weidel, was unable to obtain the endorsement of delegates during the constituting session.
