The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party which sparked controversy due to its member’s espousal of Nazi SS troops has been expelled from the European political group of far-right parties.
The political group Identity and Democracy (ID) in the European Parliament decided on the 23rd (local time) to expel nine AfD members, according to reports from German news agencies dpa German Press Agency and Die Zeit.
Five out of eight party leaders voted in favor of the expulsion of the member who made the controversial remarks, which was put to a vote by Marco Zanni, a member of the Italian far-right party Lega. AfD requested only the expulsion of Maximilian Krah, the member who made the controversial remarks, but it was not accepted.
ID includes far-right parties such as AfD, the National Rally (RN) of France, Vlaams Belang of Belgium, and the Freedom Party (FPOe) of Austria.
In an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica on the 18th, AfD member Maximilian Krah defended the Nazi SS paramilitary organization, saying, “I wouldn’t call someone a criminal automatically just because they wore an SS uniform.”
This comment immediately drew backlash from far-right parties in other countries. Marine Le Pen, a member of RN, stated on the radio the day before, “It’s time to break cleanly with this group.”
The AfD, which had been gaining momentum by stirring up resentment against immigrants and the European Union (EU), particularly in former East Germany, has been facing backlash from far-right parties in neighboring countries due to a series of scandals with Krah’s Nazi comments being the finishing blow.
The AfD has been embroiled in controversy since it was revealed that its members participated in a secret meeting in January to discuss the deportation of millions of immigrants, followed by recent allegations of spying for China and Russia.
Despite efforts to mitigate the situation by excluding Krah and Petr Bystron, the top two candidates under investigation for espionage and bribery, from their campaign, the AfD was unable to prevent their expulsion.
Currently, ID holds 59 seats in the European Parliament, with the AfD having the third most seats after Lega and RN. As the far-right party from Germany that receives the most seats in the European Parliament elections is leaving the negotiation body, far-right parties are expected to reorganize depending on the results of the European Parliament elections from June 6th to 9th.
Among the seven negotiation bodies in the European Parliament, another right-wing group, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) includes 68 members, mainly from the Law and Justice Party (PiS) of Poland and the Brothers of Italy (Fdl). ID is considered to be a more extreme right-wing group than ECR.
In a released statement, the AfD said, “We accept the decision of ID. However, we are optimistic about the election day and beyond,” and “We will strive to form a strong negotiation group in the new session.” German media ARD reported, “AfD has self-destructed just before the election,” and “Now the right-wing parties have to reorganize themselves, but the integration of ID and ECR seems far off. It’s also unclear where AfD will fit in.”