German far right expels SS apologist from European parliament caucus

The far-right Alternative for Germany has expelled its lead candidate in the EU elections from its delegation to the European parliament, in an apparent olive branch to former allies in the assembly.

Maximilian Krah had caused outrage in Europe with a joint interview to the Financial Times and La Repubblica in which he said that not everyone who served in Adolf Hitler’s SS was a criminal.

After the interviews came out, the far-right Identity and Democracy group in the European parliament, which is dominated by Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National, decided to eject the AfD, leaving it in the political wilderness. The squabble did not prevent the AfD coming second in Sunday’s election, scoring its best ever result in a nationwide vote.

“Excluding Krah was an attempt to send a message to Le Pen,” said a source in the AfD with knowledge of the matter. “It was clear to everyone that he was toxic.”

The hope is that Le Pen will now allow the AfD to be readmitted into the ID group, though the source conceded “it wouldn’t be an easy undertaking”.

The move against Krah occurred at the inaugural meeting of the AfD delegation to the European parliament on Monday morning. The newly elected MEPs approved a motion not to accept Krah into their ranks.

Krah told journalists that eight MEPs voted for the motion, four against and three abstained. The move means the future AfD delegation will be made up of 14 MEPs rather than 15.

The politician confirmed it had to do with possible talks between the AfD and the RN on forming a joint group in the new parliament.

“He’s just not reliable — a loose cannon,” said one AfD lawmaker. “We need professional, disciplined politicians, and that’s something he’s not.”

The MP said Krah had quarrelled with several European partners during the 2019-2024 parliament, including Le Pen, and twice been excluded from the ID.

Krah said his exclusion from the AfD group was a strategic mistake. “It’s just a snapshot today — let’s wait and see what the east German branches of the party have to say about it, let’s see what the grass roots have to say about it,” he said.

He added it would have no effect on his future role, compared with that of other AfD MEPs. “In parliamentary terms we’re all on a par,” he told reporters. “There’s no difference. In hell, everyone’s the same.”

Krah, who has built up a massive following on TikTok, said he was largely responsible for the AfD’s huge success with young voters: polls show 17 per cent of 16-24-year-olds chose the party in Sunday’s EU elections.

But he has long been dogged by negative headlines about his alleged ties to pro-Russian networks and to China. One of his staffers in the European parliament was arrested in April on suspicion of spying for Beijing.

A party official said the AfD had wanted to drop him from its list of candidates ahead of the election but it was too late to remove his name from ballot papers. They said voter surveys on polling day indicated that Krah’s various scandals had cost the party support.

In the end the AfD came second in the election with 15.9 per cent, beating all three parties in Olaf Scholz’s coalition. But polls late last year had put it on 22-23 per cent. “We lost five seats because of him,” said the party official.

Though the AfD has expelled Krah from its ranks in the European parliament it has retained Petr Bystron, another controversial MP who was second on its list of candidates for Europe.

Bystron is being investigated by German police and prosecutors on suspicion of money laundering and corruption. He is suspected of taking money from the Kremlin to spout Russian propaganda.

However, though he remains in the delegation, Bystron was passed over as its leader in favour of Rene Aust, a member of the state parliament in the eastern region of Thuringia who is seen as a rising star in the AfD.

Additional reporting by Andy Bounds in Brussels