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Frauke Petry

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Frauke Petry
Petry in 2015
Chairwoman[1] of Alternative für Deutschland
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 July 2015[1]
Serving with Jörg Meuthen
Preceded byBernd Lucke (as chairman)
Personal details
Born
Frauke Marquardt

(1975-06-01) 1 June 1975 (age 49)
Dresden, East Germany
Political partyAlternative for Germany
Domestic partnerMarcus Pretzell (2015–present)
Children4
Residence(s)Frohburg, Germany
EducationUniversity of Reading
University of Göttingen
OccupationChemist, businesswoman, politician

Frauke Petry (German: [ˈfʁaʊkə ˈpeːtʁiː]; née Marquardt; born 1 June 1975) is a German politician who is chair of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party since 4 July 2015. Petry had been described as a representative of the national conservative wing of her party by most political scientists.[2][3][4][5]

Petry was formerly one of three party spokespersons from 2013 to 2015,[1] and became leader in 2015 by displacing the party's founder Bernd Lucke after an internal power struggle; Lucke subsequently left the party and said it has "fallen irretrievably into the wrong hands" after Petry's election. Petry is noted for her anti-Muslim views and for her calls to ban minarets,[6] and for arguing that German police should "use firearms if necessary" to prevent illegal border-crossings.[7] She is a chemist by education and has a professional background as a small businesswoman.

In April 2017, Petry stepped down as AfD's candidate for chancellor due to reports that she wanted to change the party's policies to appeal to more moderate voters.[8] This came after she had frequently criticised the party's right wing representative, Björn Höcke, who had called the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin a "monument of shame",[9] and backed attempts to expel him, but couldn't prevail in a power struggle with her party rivals Jörg Meuthen[8] and Alexander Gauland,[10] who accused her of splitting party ranks.[11] Despite the internal strife, her party voted to allow her to run for a seat in the German parliament in the September 2017 elections.[11]

One day after election night - Petry was elected to the Bundestag by direct mandate - she left an AfD press conference saying that she won't join the party's parliamentary group in the Bundestag because the party became too "anarchical" and "could not offer a credible platform". Alice Weidel, the AfD's frontrunner, demanded her resignation from the party.[12] Petry will join Bundestag as an independent politician.[13]

Early life

Petry was born in Dresden, and grew up in Schwarzheide in Brandenburg near Saxony up to 1989. In 1992 her family moved to Bergkamen in Westphalia. Petry took her first degree in chemistry at the University of Reading, UK, in 1998, before attending the University of Göttingen, from where she gained a doctorate in 2004.[14][15]

Political orientation

Petry is described as a representative of the national conservative wing of her party by political scientists like Lars Geiges [de], Stine Marg [de], Franz Walter [de],[2] Gudrun Hentges [de],[3] Jürgen W. Falter[4] and Frank Decker (political scientist) [de].[5] To the contrary, political scientist Cas Mudde describes her as a representative of the far-right wing of her party.[16] Petry describes herself as national-conservative and supporting policies of "national self-determinism." Der Spiegel reports that her electoral success on 4 July 2015, which gave her the reins of leadership in the AfD in preference to Bernd Lucke, the founder, was made possible by the national-conservative wing of the party. Bernd Lucke's wing did not have the majority.[1]

On the subject of the political spectrum, Petry has said, "Right and left are terms that haven't fitted for a long time."[17] Petry believes sharia is incompatible with the "democratic and liberal order of state"[18] and has said that the majority within her AfD favors a liberal-conservative policy.[19]

Border control

In January 2016, when a reporter from the regional newspaper Mannheimer Morgen asked her about European and German border policies, Petry answered that the German Border police must do their jobs by "hindering illegal entry of refugees." She then falsely invoked[20] German law in order to conclude that the border police may "use firearms if necessary" to "prevent illegal border crossings", a statement which contradicts the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. The reporter followed up on her response, using the term Schiessbefehl which means "order to shoot". Petry stated that she did not use that term, going on to state that no policeman "wants to fire on a refugee and I don't want that either" but that border police must follow the law to maintain the integrity of European borders.[19] Afterwards, Petry made several attempts to justify these statements.[18][19]

Male circumcision

She was criticized in April 2016 by Lutz Bachmann of the anti-Islamic movement Pegida for supporting the right of Muslim Germans to circumcision.[21] In a rough draft of its manifesto, the AfD had considered adopting a stance stating that male circumcision should be outlawed, but Petry said in her interview with Tim Sebastian on 21 March 2016 that this language would not be in the final draft.[18] The Central Council of Jews in Germany is also in an uproar over the question of religious circumcision, stating that to give precedence to a child's self-determination over his parents' right of freedom of religion is "an unprecedented and dramatic intrusion on the right to self-determination of religious communities."[22] This national dialogue is happening in the wake of a 2012 decision of a Higher Regional Court in Cologne, which called the circumcision of a 4-year-old boy "bodily harm."[22] Bachmann is of the view that a man should be 18 before being able to decide whether or not he wants to be circumcised. He has also said that Petry is "scared of Germany's past with Jewish people."[21]

Women in society

Unlike the CDU and SPD, Petry does not believe mandatory quotas are the right way to give opportunities to women, nor does she believe they improve the chances of women having more leadership positions. She believes quotas make women unsure of whether a promotion would be made on the basis of qualifications.[23]

Regarding the issue of burqas, Petry believes it shouldn't be compulsory for women to dress in such a manner. She has said that in schools "this sort of religious costume should not be worn."[18]

Migration

On the issue of international migration, Petry is of the view that, "We [Germany and the rest of Europe] have to decide what sort of migration we want to accept."[18] She has said, "Deciding about who's migrating and who's not, who's going to be part of a new country is, in the end, a question of borders, whether you see them, or whether you don't. When I go to France, I don't see the border, but I know it's there and I accept it, be it in terms of speed limits, or be it in terms of laws and legislation."[18]

Personal life

In 2007, Petry founded her own business, PURinvent, a Leipzig-based manufacturer of polyurethane tire fill products.[15] She received the Medal of the Order of Merit in 2012.[24][25] She speaks fluent English.[26]

Petry separated from her husband Sven, a Lutheran pastor,[17] in October 2015.[27] Her domestic partner is Marcus Pretzell.[28] She has four children and lives in Tautenhain, Saxony.[15][24] Petry published a statement in early October 2015 in which she announced that she would separate from her husband, while also noting that "much more than just friendly feelings" had developed between her and fellow party member Marcus Pretzell.[29] Sven has since joined the CDU.[17][30]

Petry is a member of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony, a member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). She criticizes many stances of the EKD, which historically holds a largely liberal Protestant stance, claiming it follows "only its own interests" regarding immigration. She advocates its cooperation with AfD in order to defend the European Christian values of the West.[31]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "AfD: Lucke-Anhänger wollen neue Partei gründen". Der Spiegel (in German). 13 July 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  2. ^ a b Lars Geiges, Stine Marg, Franz Walter: Pegida. Die schmutzige Seite der Zivilgesellschaft? Transcript, Bielefeld 2015, ISBN 978-3-8376-3192-0, S. 153.
  3. ^ a b Gudrun Hentges: Sarrazins Erben: Ressentiments von PEGIDA und AfD finden sich schon beim Ex-Finanzsenator. In: ROSALUX. Journal der Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Ausgabe 1/2015, 20 f.
  4. ^ a b Kristina zur Mühlen: "Politologe zum Flügelkampf in der AfD: Machtkampf mindert die Wahlchancen" (Interview with Jürgen W. Falter) (in German). tagesschau24. tagesschau.de. 22 January 2015. Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ a b Frank Decker: Alternative für Deutschland und Pegida. Die Ankunft des neuen Rechtspopulismus in der Bundesrepublik. In: Frank Decker, Bernd Henningsen, Kjetil Jakobsen (Hrsg.): Rechtspopulismus und Rechtsextremismus in Europa. Die Herausforderung der Zivilgesellschaft durch alte Ideologien und neue Medien (= International Studies on Populism. Bd. 2). Nomos, Baden-Baden 2015, ISBN 978-3-8487-1206-9, S. 75–90, hier: S. 80.
  6. ^ "Far right AfD party says Muslims not welcome in Germany".
  7. ^ "Refugees should be shot 'if necessary', says party leader in Germany". 31 January 2016.
  8. ^ a b Huggler, Justin. "German far-right leader stuns party by quitting chancellor race". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  9. ^ AfD members distance themselves from Holocaust memorial critic, DW.com
  10. ^ Frauke Petry bezichtigt Gauland und Meuthen der Lüge, Die Welt
  11. ^ a b Alternative for Germany's Frauke Petry survives attempted in-party putsch, DW.com
  12. ^ German election, the day after: AfD's Frauke Petry won't join parliamentary group, DW
  13. ^ AfD leader quits party caucus hours after German election breakthrough, The Guardian
  14. ^ Petry, Frauke (2004). Charakterisierung eines neuen ATP-binding-cassette Transporters aus der ABCA-Subfamilie (PDF) (in German). University of Göttingen. p. 129. Retrieved 27 September 2013.(dissertation/curriculum vitae)
  15. ^ a b c Lang, Thomas (9 February 2011). "Geithain – Gründerinnenpreis Sachsens geht an Tautenhainerin". Leipziger Volkszeitung (in German). Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  16. ^ Mudde, Cas (13 March 2016). "One Alternative for Germany or Many? The Mixed Message of the German State Elections". The Huffington Post.
  17. ^ a b c Kate Connolly (7 February 2016). "Frauke Petry: Smiling face of Germany's resurgent right". The Observer. Retrieved 7 February 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ a b c d e f Sebastian, Tim (21 March 2016). "Transcript: Tim Sebastian interviews Frauke Petry". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  19. ^ a b c Mack, Steffen; Serif, Walter (30 January 2016). ""Sie können es nicht lassen!"". Mannheimer Morgen (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  20. ^ Bender, Justus; Haneke, Alexander (31 January 2016). "Schuss vor den Humbug". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
  21. ^ a b Kassam, Raheem (5 April 2016). "EXCLUSIVE—PEGIDA Founder Lutz Bachmann Gives Rare Interview To Breitbart London's Raheem Kassam". Breitbart News Network. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  22. ^ a b "Cutting Controversy: German Court Sets New Circumcision Rules". Der Spiegel. 27 September 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  23. ^ "Die Frauenquote sei "völlig unausgegoren"". Wirtschaftswoche (in German). 27 November 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  24. ^ a b Lang, Thomas (8 October 2012). "Borna – Verdienstorden mit 37 Jahren". Leipziger Volkszeitung (in German). Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  25. ^ "Ordensverleihung zum Tag der Deutschen Einheit" (in German). Bundespräsidialamt. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  26. ^ Fröhlich, Christoph (26 March 2016). "In diesem Interview wird Frauke Petry ordentlich auseinandergenommen". Stern (in German). Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  27. ^ "AfD-Chefin Petry trennt sich von ihrem Ehemann". Sächsische Zeitung (in German). 7 October 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  28. ^ Amann, Melanie; Weiland, Severin (12 February 2016). "Angebliches Beratungsangebot: Die AfD, der Journalist und ein heikler Vorwurf". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  29. ^ Peter Teffer (30 October 2015). "Germany's anti-euro party which became two". EUobserver. Retrieved 23 March 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  30. ^ Decker, Markus (12 October 2015). "Sven Petry geht zur CDU" (in German). FRANKFURTER RUNDSCHAU. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  31. ^ "Wie christlich ist die AfD? – Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Hennef". 18 April 2016.
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