Statements made by the lead candidate have led to the Alternative for Germany (AfD) being expelled from the Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the EU Parliament. The ID group announced in a press release that the AfD is now excluded from the group, where the Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti) is also a member. The exclusion takes immediate effect. It is explained in the press release that the expulsion of the German party is related to recent controversy surrounding AfD’s lead candidate, Maximilian Krah. Krah made comments about the SS uniforms worn by Nazis, stating to the Italian media La Repubblica that he “would never say that anyone wearing an SS uniform is automatically a criminal” in reference to Nazi uniforms. Following this, Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National, also a member of the ID group, announced that they could no longer sit in the group with AfD.
Anders Vistisen, a member of the European Parliament from the Danish People’s Party, also criticized AfD sharply: “There is full agreement in the group that Maximilian Krah has crossed a line in terms of membership for us. Therefore, we have shown the Germans the door and told them to get rid of the extremist elements. A red line has been drawn,” Vistisen said on Tuesday. Later on Thursday, Vistisen informed Ritzau that AfD would be excluded. Krah has suspended his campaign activities ahead of the EU elections and has stepped down from AfD’s leadership. However, he remains a member of the European Parliament and could be one again. This was not satisfactory for Vistisen and the rest of the group.
“It is far from sufficient, considering what we expected if they were to have a chance to remain,” he said. Before Thursday’s exclusion, the ID group had 58 members of the European Parliament from eight different countries.