Ban on appearances and Krah’s withdrawal: What does this mean for the European elections?

The AfD leadership has banned Maximilian Krah from appearing in events. He is also withdrawing from the party’s federal executive board. However, he remains the EU’s top candidate. What does this mean for the European elections?

A good two weeks before the European elections, the AfD has banned its own top candidate, Maximilian Krah, from appearing. Krah himself confirmed his withdrawal from the election campaign and from the federal executive board.

The 47-year-old was already under pressure because of the espionage scandal involving an employee and because of his proximity to Russia and China. What consequences does this have for the European elections?

How did Krah’s withdrawal come about?

The trigger was an interview with Krah with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, which asked about the National Socialist SS. There Krah stated: “I will never say that anyone who wore an SS uniform was automatically a criminal.” When asked whether the SS were war criminals, he replied: “There were certainly a high percentage of criminals, but not all of them were criminals.” The SS guarded and managed, among other things, the concentration camps and was largely responsible for war crimes. At the Nuremberg Trials after the end of the Second World War it was declared a criminal organization.

The French Rassemblement National announced its termination of its cooperation with the AfD because of Krah’s statement. The French far-right party RN has so far sat with the AfD in the European Parliament in the ID group. After the election, the party will have new allies and will no longer sit alongside the AfD, said RN party leader Jordan Bardella.

Can the AfD still get Krah out of the Candidate list take?

No, that is only possible within a certain period of time, and that period has already expired. The European Elections Act stipulates that the Federal Election Committee makes a binding decision on the approval of nominations 72 days before the election. A withdrawal would therefore have had to have taken place by March 29.

How can a candidate once admitted be deleted?

This is only possible in two constellations. Firstly, if the candidate dies. On the other hand, if he loses his eligibility. This is automatically the case if he is sentenced to at least one year in prison for a crime. For certain crimes, the court can order the loss of the right to stand for election with a prison sentence of just six months.

These crimes include, for example, the use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations or the preparation of a serious act of violence endangering the state.

What happens if Krah does not accept the election?

The first to go are the substitute candidates of a party. If a party has not nominated any substitute candidates, the candidate who, based on the percentage of votes received by the party, would not have made it into the European Parliament takes his place.

What consequences does this have for the AfD?

For the AfD, the scandal with the Rassemblement National could mean a loss of power at the European level. The dispute over Krah could also have repercussions within the AfD – at the federal party conference in Essen at the end of June.

In addition to Krah, the second-placed member of the Bundestag, Petr Bystron, is also under pressure and has now also announced that he will not appear in the election campaign for the time being. This is for family reasons, Bystron told the Bavarian BroadcastingA party spokesman confirmed the statements. Bystron did not say how long he would be withdrawing.

There are allegations against Bystron of accepting money from Russia. The Bundestag lifted Bystron’s immunity on Thursday because the public prosecutor’s office was investigating him on initial suspicion of bribery and money laundering. Police searched, among other things, his parliamentary office in Berlin.