the German far-right party AfD bans its head of list from all electoral meetings

The German far-right AfD party banned its head of list in the European elections (June 6 to 9), Maximilian Krah, from all electoral meetings on Wednesday May 22. This sanction comes after a series of slip-ups by the politician. The 47-year-old lawyer also leaves “with immediate effect” the party’s governing bodies, said its co-presidents, Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, in a short statement after a telephone meeting of the federal office.

Controversial MEP causes party one “massive damage in the electoral campaign”, underlines the AfD, which despite everything maintains its head of list for the election, since it is too late to change it. The decision follows the National Rally’s announcement on Tuesday to end its cooperation with the AfD in the European Parliament, where they sit in the Identity and Democracy (ID) group.

The latest incident involving Maximilian Krah, also suspected of being close to Russia and China and very active on TikTok, dates back to last weekend when he considered that an SS man was not “not automatically a criminal”, in an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica.

In a reaction on X, Maximilian Krah confirmed his sidelining for the good of the unity of his formation, while deploring that “objective and nuanced statements of [sa] go” have been used “as a pretext to harm [son] left”. “We can never fall lower than into the hand of God”added this Catholic.

The AfD is now credited with around 15% of voting intentions in the European elections, relegated to second or third position, after peaking at nearly 23% at the end of 2023. But the far-right party remains at a lower level. higher than in the 2019 elections, where he obtained 11% of the vote.