Germany's AfD threatens to split

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was threatened with several splits in its ranks on Monday, just hours after it became the country's third-strongest political party.

Frauke Petry, an AfD co-chair who was sidelined as the party's top election candidate earlier this year, presented the first crack in the facade when she said she would not join the parliamentary caucus.

Not only that, she walked out of a press conference she was holding alongside other members of the leadership.

Alexander Gauland, the AfD's top candidate alongside Alice Weidel, later referred to the incident as an "unsuccessful start" for the party, adding that he could not rule out the possibility of a split.

"I cannot rule out that some will follow her into the political wilderness," Gauland said.

The nationalist, anti-immigrant AfD achieved a better-than-expected result in Sunday's federal election, meaning it will take 94 seats in parliament.

Explaining her decision, Petry - who won a direct mandate in her constituency in the east German state of Saxony - said: "We should be open about the fact there there is conflict regarding content within the AfD, we should not pretend it doesn't exist."

Immediately after Petry's walkout, Joerg Meuthen, another party co-chair, apologised, saying the decision had not been agreed with the leadership.