NRW AfD feud: Two city councilors fight saber duel in Düsseldorf
An AfD local politician from Cologne and one from Düsseldorf reportedly dueled at a fraternity house. The arrangement is said to have been made during a dispute over the 2027 state list.
Symbolic image · Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Two AfD politicians from North Rhine-Westphalia met in Düsseldorf for a Mensur, a student fencing bout fought with sharp blades. Cologne AfD city councilor Matthias Büschges confirmed this to dpa: "We fenced with each other." His opponent was Düsseldorf AfD city councilor Jeremy Franosch, he said. A fraternity house in Düsseldorf was named as the venue; a dpa reporter saw several people going inside in the morning. The news portal t-online first reported the story.
Büschges did not disclose the outcome, calling it a "private matter." "The Mensur follows very, very strict rules, which are also observed there," he said. The two had teased each other a little "on a beer-fueled whim" in Marl. He gave no information on possible injuries.
The arrangement is said to have been made in July at the candidate selection meeting for the 2027 North Rhine-Westphalia state election in Marl, where the conflict within the state branch had escalated. The NRW AfD has been divided for months: on one side is state leader Martin Vincentz, who is considered moderate, and on the other the "patriotic camp" around Dortmund Bundestag member Matthias Helferich.