German far-right AfD expel top candidate from party's EU delegation

DPA
·2 min read
Maximilian Krah, Alternative for Germany (AfD) lead candidate for the 2024 European elections, is leaving the consultations with the newly elected AfD MEPs after the European elections. Krah will not be part of the future AfD delegation to the European Parliament. At their constituent meeting, the newly elected MEPs voted in favor of a motion not to include Krah. Britta Pedersen/dpa

German far-right politician Maximilian Krah, who was banned from his party's EU campaign after making controversial statements about Germany's Nazi past, will also be excluded from the AfD's delegation in the European Parliament, fellow lawmakers from his party decided on Monday.

Krah, who was actually the lead candidate for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the EU election, also made headlines in recent weeks due to alleged links to pro-Russian networks and China.

His statement that not all members of the SS - a Nazi paramilitary group - were criminals, led his party being excluded from the right-wing Identity and Democracy grouping in the European Parliament shortly before the election.

After the AfD came in second place in Germany with 15.9%, AfD chairpersons Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla met the newly elected AfD lawmakers in Berlin on Monday morning.

The meeting was to focus on the party's future delegation to the EU Parliament and appoint a leader for the group.

The victory of the conservative CDU/CSU bloc and gains made by the AfD in the EU elections have put further pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz's centre-left coalition.

Maximilian Krah, Alternative for Germany (AfD) lead candidate for the 2024 European elections, gives an interview after leaving the consultations with the newly elected AfD MEPs after the European elections. Krah will not be part of the future AfD delegation to the European Parliament. At their constituent meeting, the newly elected MEPs voted in favor of a motion not to include Krah. Britta Pedersen/dpa