Schill Party Debates Expelling Founder

Hamburg's populist, right-wing Party for a Law and Order Offensive debated on Tuesday whether to expel its founder Ronald Schill. Party members accused Hamburg's former interior minister of damaging the party's standing with his public appearances and repeated verbal attacks on senate members. The city-state's center-right coalition collapsed a week ago in the wake of infighting among party members of the coalition's junior partner, with Schill getting deposed as Hamburg party leader by the national party leadership over the weekend. Tuesday's talks were led by Mario Mettbach, the city’s deputy mayor and Schill party leader, who has said a majority of the party wants to expel its founder and blame him for the failure of the coalition. Party leaders have said they will be selecting candidates for February’s city-state parliamentary elections in mid-January. They also intend to use the party’s full name from now on rather than the more commonly known "Schill Party."