As a party, the AFP seems to be a magnet for upper middle-class conservatives, members of Germany's conservative student fraternities, former supporters of the business-friendly Free Democratic Party (ousted from parliament in the last election), people fond of reading German politician Thilo Sarrazin's anti-immigrant diatribes and those with a penchant for nationalism. In recent years, Merkel has said that there is "no alternative" to many of her policies, a figure of speech that has driven many civil rights activists, some even from the Green Party, to the AFD.
The party has a motley crew of supporters backing it. When he founded the party, Lucke thought that someone had to ensure order. But the draft statutes with which Lucke and the party's board sought to make that possible triggered a chaotic debate at a recent party conference. The party has grown unwieldy and, given the maverick tendencies of its supporters, Lucke is going to have to trouble containing it. Besides, Lucke himself said he wanted to give every citizen a voice. Now they're using theirs.
But that has consequences, too. Bizarre things can happen at an AFD party conference, like the man who grabbed the microphone in the middle of a debate and demanded that everyone sing the German national anthem until they were too tired to continue. Or the scowling lawyer from Baden-Württemberg who -- surrounded by a group of men with neatly parted hair who looked a bit like bodyguards -- wanted to be elected to party office. When asked why he wanted a post, he said: "You're asking me too many questions." When asked why he wanted to be in the party, he answered, "There you go, asking questions again," before leaving with his entourage.
Some at the party conference preferred not to say what it was they wanted from the party, whereas others gave short talks. One theme, somewhat conspiratorially, seemed to come up again and again: That there are certain things that people in Germany aren't free to talk about. It's something that Lucke likes to say, too.
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Oil & Gas: Iraq arbitrates to disrupt Kurdish oil sales
In a case that could be critical for the future of Kurdish exports, the Government of Iraq has commenced an ICC arbitration against Turkey and Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS) under a 40 year old pipeline agreement claiming that accepting imports from Kurdistan is a breach of existing international agreements.
The trigger for the dispute seems to have been the export of oil from Turkey in a crude oil tanker, rumoured to be United Leadership, carrying a cargo of Iraqi crude oil. The dispute may have important implications for oil companies with interests in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
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