European elections: in Germany, the head of the AfD list banned from electoral meetings by his party

An atypical sanction due to a series of slip-ups. Maximilian Krah, head of the list of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the European elections, is banned from meetings and campaign events by his party from Wednesday May 22, the latter announced. This ban applies to all AfD electoral events and other public party events, an AfD spokesperson told Agence France-Presse following a conference call. federal office.

Mr. Krah confirmed this decision in a message on According to him, his “factual and nuanced statements are used as a pretext to harm” his party, which “must maintain its unity”.

For several weeks, the far-right elected official has become a source of embarrassment for his party, which had nevertheless designated him about a year ago, by a large majority, as head of the list for the June 9 election. . The latest incident involving the 47-year-old MEP dates back to last weekend: Mr Krah said that an SS man “was not automatically a criminal” in an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica.

The RN formalized its break with the AfD

Mr. Krah is also the subject of a preliminary investigation for suspicion of Russian and Chinese financing. One of his assistants at the European Parliament, Jian Guo, is also accused by the federal prosecutor of having spied on behalf of Beijing at the very heart of the institution. He was arrested at the end of April.

These suspicions, as well as a series of controversies affecting the AfD in Germany, led its French ally, the National Rally (RN), to break off its historic partnership with the German party on Tuesday by announcing that the two parties would not would no longer sit together in the European Parliament.

For several months, Marine Le Pen and her team have been struggling with the controversies that punctuate the campaign of their partner across the Rhine. On January 10, the German investigative site Correctiv notably revealed the holding of a secret meeting on November 25, 2023 in Potsdam, where party executives met with representatives of the neo-Nazi movement to discuss a planned large-scale expulsion of foreigners and Germans of foreign origin.

Following these numerous controversies, the AfD is now credited with around 15% of voting intentions in the European elections in Germany.