Sieghard Knodel
Sieghard Knodel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Bundestag | |
| Assumed office 25 March 2025 | |
| Constituency | Baden-Württemberg |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 February 1961 |
| Political party | Independent (since 2025) Alternative for Germany (until 2025) |
Sieghard Knodel (born 13 February 1961) is a German politician who was elected as a member of Alternative for Germany in the Bundestag in 2025 to represent the state of Baden-Wurttemberg. He works as a master mechanic for agricultural machinery and is a former director of S. Knodel.
On May 6, 2025, Knodel left AfD, becoming a non-attached member of the parliament. His resignation from the party has resulted in AfD's parliamentary representation to shrink from 152 to 151.
Life
[edit]Sieghard Knodel was born on February 13, 1961 in the city of Korntal, he is divorced and has two children.[1] He was a member of AfD for four years and has only been a member of the parliament since he was elected in 2025 German federal elections to represent the state of Baden-Württemberg. According to his profile in Bundestag, Knodel is a trained business economist and a mechanic for agricultural machinery.[2][3] From 1992 to March 2025, Knodel was a director of S. Knodel, a company that specialized in buying and renting aerial work platforms.[4] Knodel's company has been involved in various high-profile projects, like Stuttgart 21.[5]
Resignation from AfD
[edit]On May 6, 2025, Knodel resigned from his position as an AfD representative in Bundestag, reducing AfD parliamentary representation by 1. According to the Bundestag, Knodel informed the president of the parliament, Julia Klöckner (CDU) of his resignation, spokesperson of AfD also confirmed his resignation.[6][7]
Knodel explained the reasons for leaving AfD in an email which he wrote the day before. In the email, he stated: "Given the party's classification as confirmed right-wing extremist by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, I must protect my private and professional environment". He also stated that his decision was "inevitable" and that he would continue working in Bundestag as an non-attached member of parliament.[7][5] AfD branch in Reutlingen stated that they "in no way understand" the reason for the resignation. They also stated that the classification of AfD as extremist was "politically motivated" and that Knodel had "lacked the foresight" to recognize this.[8]
In an interview with German press, Knodel said that he would decide in the coming weeks whether he would join another party in the parliament. The executive board of AfD have called on him to rejoin the party, stating that him remaining in parliament as a non-attached member would be a "clear breach of the responsibility" and would "disregard this will of the voters".[9] Knodel's resignation has caused heated reactions on social media, with Facebook users insulting him by calling him a "traitor of the people" or "fraudster".[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "Deutscher Bundestag - Sieghard Knodel". Deutscher Bundestag (in German). Retrieved 8 May 2025.
- ^ Van Bekkum, Dylan (6 May 2025). "Bundestag member Sieghard Knodel splits from AfD after report labels party as far-right". De Vokstrant.
- ^ Buttler, Tim (13 March 2025). "Neuer Bundestag: Nur wenige Handwerker - dhz.net". Deutsche Handwerks (in German). Archived from the original on 3 April 2025.
- ^ Mediengruppe, Funke (6 May 2025). "AfD gesichert rechtsextrem: Abgeordneter Knodel verlässt Partei". Berliner Morgenpost (in German).
- ^ a b Agaci, Evrim (6 May 2025). "AfD Member Resigns After Extremist Classification". The Pinnacle Gazette.
- ^ a b "Erster Abgeordneter tritt aus AfD-Fraktion aus". Stern (in German). 6 May 2025. Archived from the original on 6 May 2025.
- ^ a b "MP turns his back on AfD after extremism classification". Handelsblatt. 6 May 2025.
- ^ Ferstl, Max (6 May 2025). "Bundestagsabgeordneter verlässt AfD". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German).
- ^ Starzman, Benito (6 May 2025). "AfD als "gesichert rechtsextrem" eingestuft: Sieghard Knodel tritt aus Partei aus - Reutlinger AfD zeigt kein Verständnis". SWR Aktuell (in German).
