Two of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) politicians, who were previously excluded for Nazi-related comments, have been re-admitted into the party’s parliamentary group after its record-breaking election successes in Germany.
Maximilian Krah, who quit the AfD federal executive board in June after saying that not everyone who was a member of Hitler’s SS were “automatically criminals,” and Matthias Helferich, who quit parliament in 2021 after calling himself “the friendly face of the Nazis” in a leaked message, were welcomed back after the party’s success in the general election.
Krah had been under pressure from European far-right parties such as France’s Rassemblement National and Italy’s Lega, and was excluded from AfD’s European election campaign. His comments and the arrest on suspicion of spying for China of one of his advisers resulted in the AfD being suspended from the defunct Identity and Democracy group in the European Parliament. Yet, the party has subsequently established a fresh grouping, Europe of Sovereign Nations, alongside other far-right factions.
Their return was announced at the AfD’s first parliamentary session, where it was agreed that Krah and Helferich would no longer be barred. Both now join co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla as AfD won 152 seats, becoming the parliament’s second-largest party with more than 20% of the vote.
The action has prompted fresh demands for the AfD to be banned. Social Democrat (SPD) centre-left politician Carmen Wegge contended that the choice to bring back formerly marginalized politicians illustrates the party’s increasingly extremist position. Nonetheless, Helferich hailed his return, promising to promote a “right-wing cultural policy” in parliament.
