Germany: AfD Candidate Resigns From Party Post

Facts

• Maximilian Krah, the lead candidate for the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the EU's parliamentary election, stepped down from his party post Wednesday after remarks he made about the Nazi SS police.¹
• The Schutzstaffel (SS) played a leading role in the Holocaust and other Nazi war crimes during World War 2. Krah had told an Italian newspaper that 'You have to assess blame individually' and that not all SS members were 'criminals.'²
• On Tuesday, French Marine Le Pen's National Rally party announced that they would not sit with AfD in the EU parliament in light of the remarks. Both parties are part of the Identity and Democracy (ID) election group.³
• In a statement issued Wednesday, Krah announced he would stop campaigning and resign from the party's executive committee ahead of the June 6-9 election, saying the AfD 'must preserve its unity.'⁴
• Krah's public profile had already been lowered following the arrest of an aide on allegations that he was paid by Russia and China, with one of his aides also arrested for allegedly spying for China.⁵
• The AfD sits in second place in German polls at around 18%, behind the conservative Christian Democrats. Earlier this month, a German court ruled that the country's spy agency could monitor the AfD as a 'suspected extremist case.'⁵

Sources: ¹Guardian, ²BBC News, ³POLITICO, ⁴ft.com and ⁵Washington Post.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by New York Times. Time and time again the AfD has shown the world their true face, and we ought to believe them after their umpteenth controversy over extremism. From excusing Nazi war criminals to suggesting that German citizens of foreign descent should be deported, Germany must realize that this party means what they say and intend to push a far-right agenda. Let's hope it is not too late to stop them from making huge gains this election.
• Narrative B, as provided by Journal of Democracy. German voters are less interested in the latest media-made scandal than in the utter failure of the ruling class to listen to the needs of the people. Polling for the trust that Germans have in their leaders and their optimism for the future has reached record lows, and the AfD is the only party taking those concerns seriously. The sustained popularity of the party proves that their success is due to more than mere demagoguery.

Predictions