""No one should be forced to pay for disinformation," Siegmund thunders. He is the floor leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party in the former East German state of Saxony-Anhalt, and he launches into a diatribe against a familiar target: Germany's giant publicly funded broadcasters ARD and ZDF, institutions comparable to a supercharged blend of PBS, NPR and local public television and radio. Critics, not just from the far-right, have accused ARD and ZDF of runaway costs and a pronounced leftward political bias for many years. The channels, Siegmund tells his fellow lawmakers, must shrink and report neutrally, "without indoctrination, without all the nonsense." As one of many examples, he cites a recent documentary titled "Radical Christians in Germany: A Crusade from the Right." And then comes the joke: "We all know that feeling - you sit on a train and hope that no radical Christian sits down next to you.""
"Siegmund is tall, slim, telegenic. His graying hair is slicked back; the edges of his three-day beard are precisely trimmed. He wears a tailored navy suit, white shirt and pocket square. When he speaks, even when he attacks, a faint smile flutters on his face."
Ulrich Siegmund, a 35-year-old floor leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Saxony-Anhalt, delivers polished speeches criticizing publicly funded broadcasters. He accuses ARD and ZDF of indoctrination and excessive costs, citing a documentary about 'Radical Christians' as an example and joking about radical Christians on trains. Siegmund's style is telegenic and composed, with precise grooming and a faint smile even during attacks. His remarks elicit laughter across party lines. He has emerged as a prominent, friendly public face for the AfD as the party grows to rival the Christian Democrats in national influence.
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