Höcke

This past week, the Thuringia AfD Party group met and discussed the 2019 state election.  Here in Germany for 2019, there are three state elections and one EU election (June) scheduled.

What came out of this meeting is a 'pick' for their Premier-President candidate (to lead the party in the state election).  They choose.....Björn Höcke.  The basic description to the guy?  Forty-six years old....college educated.  Went to law school but never graduated.  Politically, he is probably as far to the right as you can be....without being extremist in nature. 

The public TV news media tend to use his commentary and statements as negatives, because he is fairly direct and confrontational. 

What's this mean for the AfD Party in the Thuringia election?  It's hard to say.  This is a eastern German state and the AfD already is fairly popular in the region.  Right now, I would make a guess that they can easily clear 15-percent of the state vote, and maybe even go as high as low 20's.  But it also means nationally, that Höcke will be center-stage and being a magnet for criticism. 

So if you see Höcke's name tossed around....at least you have some understanding of the guy.