The far-right German party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has been expelled from its pan-European parliamentary group after a string of recent controversies over its policy choices and the conduct of some of its leaders.

“The bureau of the Identity and Democracy group in the European parliament has decided today to exclude the German delegation, AfD, with immediate effect,” the ID group of populist far-right parties said in a statement on Thursday.

The day before, AfD’s lead candidate in June’s European elections resigned from the party leadership and renounced all further campaign activities following criticism of comments he made last weekend that the Nazi SS were “not all criminals”.

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    16 months ago

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    The far-right German party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has been expelled from its pan-European parliamentary group after a string of recent controversies over its policy choices and the conduct of some of its leaders.

    The day before, AfD’s lead candidate in June’s European elections resigned from the party leadership and renounced all further campaign activities following criticism of comments he made last weekend that the Nazi SS were “not all criminals”.

    Krah’s comments to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica prompted France’s far-right National Rally (RN), a key member of ID along with AfD since 2019, to say this week it would no longer sit in the same group as the German party after the elections.

    Marine Le Pen, RN’s leader, who has spent years trying to normalise her party to appeal to mainstream voters, announced on Wednesday that it needed to make a “clean break”, accusing AfD of being held hostage by its most radical elements.

    However, the more normalised national-conservative ECR group, which includes Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, Poland’s Law & Justice (PiS), Spain’s Vox, the Finns and Sweden Democrats, may be wary of welcoming many former ID members.

    The party faced mass street protests earlier this year after senior figures attended a meeting where the deportation of Germans with immigrant backgrounds was discussed, and over allegations that it harbours agents for Russia and China.


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