The German Prince, Constantin, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau is running for office for the German far-right party AfD, Alternative for Germany. The German Prince wants to represent his party in the Bundestag, the German parliament. This has, in recent days, been given a great deal of attention in German media.
Alternative for Germany is a right-wing populist and Eurosceptic party in Germany, founded in 2013. The party has often been criticised for its connection with right-wing extremists. As of 2017, the AfD has gained representation in 13 of the 16 German state parliaments.
With the slogan “our country – our homeland” the 69-year-old Prince represents a conservative anti-EU politics and has as goal to be a new member of the German parliament. In an interview with German media, the Prince criticises what he describes as “the increasing Islamization of Germany.” In addition to his criticism of Islam, the Prince has made it his primary goal of getting Germany out of the European Union.
At the beginning of his election campaign, the Prince used the title Prince of Anhalt-Dessau. After this, several other German royals went out and publicly criticised this leading to Constantin only being referred to as Prince of Anhalt.
The leader of the House of Ascania, Prince Edward of Anhalt, has gone so far as to deny all knowledge of Prince Constantin’s existence. Prince Edward has publicly stated: “As the head of the family, I am able to state that this gentleman does not descend from the Anhalt family, and I refuse to be his uncle. This Prince could have come to his title only in two ways; either he bought it, or he has acquired it by adoption or marriage.”
Prince Constantin has not commented the statement of Prince Edward.
The royal coat of arms of the House of Ascania. Photo: Hugo Gerhard Ströhl via Wikimedia Commons.
The Royal Family of Anhalt, the House of Ascania, refuses to support Prince Constantin in his claim for political power. Even some members of the family decline that the Prince is even a part of the Royal Family. The Royal Family Anhalt-Dessau controlled the principality with the same name from 1369 to 1863; then the principality became a subject to the new Duchy of Anhalt.
Federal German elections will be held on 24 September 2017 to elect the members of the 19th Bundestag. The new Bundestag will have to choose a chancellor with an absolute majority of its members, who will, in turn, form a new government.
