Dirk Spaniel | |
|---|---|
 Spaniel in 2019 | |
| Member of theBundestag | |
| In office 2017–2025 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1971-11-03)3 November 1971 (age 53) |
| Political party | Values Union (since 2025) |
| Other political affiliations | AfD (until 2024) |
Dirk Spaniel (born 3 November 1971) is a German politician (Values Union since 2025, formerlyAlternative for Germany). Dirk Spaniel has served as amember of theBundestag from the state ofBaden-Württemberg from 2017 to 2025 while part of the AfD.
After his education that included study of Mechanical Engineering atMichigan State University, and a promotion aboutfuel cell electric vehicles powered by methanol, Dr. Dirk Spaniel worked as an automotive engineer inStuttgart.
In 2015, he became member of Alternative für Deutschland in the state ofBaden-Württemberg. At the first party convention that nominated the list of Bundestag candidates for the upcoming2017 German federal election, in November 2016, the yet unknown Spaniel was unable to assert himself for nomination in the top nine of the list of Bundestag candidates, led byAlice Weidel. However, he later became a direct candidate for the constituencyStuttgart I, and in the January 2017 convention, secured place ten of the state list that eventually made eleven candidates member of the Bundestag.[1] He became member of the Committee on Transport and Digital Infrastructure.[2] Early in the term, Spaniel was elected leader of his state group in the parliament, but was replaced after several months. From his first Bundestag speech in 2018, he campaigned against electric cars, then mainly imports likeTesla Model S, and made a name for himself as "Doctor Diesel".
At the state party conference on February 23, 2019, he was elected speaker of the AfD Baden-Württemberg state association alongside state parliament memberBernd Gögel. He defeatedMartin Hess with 371 votes to 341. Soon, he was accused of dividing the party, opposing not only Gögel but also national level leaders likeJörg Meuthen, Weidel and others, while allegedly siding withDer Flügel. In early 2020, the state association convened again, andAlice Weidel was elected as state leader for two years.
For the2021 German federal election, with conventions limited due to C-19, the state party used a complicated online method to elected the list of candidates, which was challenged and supervised by Spaniel. He was included at no. 3, but at the end, it contained only 12 names, only one more than eventually got called up as parliament members.
Up to 2024, there was an open exchange of blows over power in the AfD state association in Baden-Württemberg between Spaniel's camp and the chairmen that succeed Weidel,Markus Frohnmaier and state parliament memberEmil Sänze, both are supported byAlice Weidel. At a special party conference, member even switched off each other's microphones, and the meeting descended into chaos. Nevertheless, Spaniel was unable to prevail.[3]
In October 2024, when state AfD prepared itself early for the2025 German federal election that was scheduled for 28 September 2025, Alice Weidel managed to have her "favourites" elected while Spaniel and some others lost their bids and were left out from the list of candidates.[4]
Soon after his defeat, Spaniel left the AfD, but kept his parliament seat. With that seat, he joined the CDU splinter groupValues Union in January 2025.[5]
Having left the AfD, and with the Values Union barely functional, he did not stand for re-election in the2025 German federal election that already took place in February 2025 as a snap election.
At the AfD convention inDresden in 2021, Spaniel called for Germany to leave the European Union ("Dexit").
