Parties
Former boss Meuthen: AfD will become irrelevant in the European Parliament
The former AfD federal chairman Jörg Meuthen. Photo
© Kay Nietfeld/dpa
Jörg Meuthen left the AfD in a dispute. From the outside, he commented on the turbulence surrounding the European candidate Maximilian Krah and said: “They are simply seen as dirty children.”
Former party leader Jörg Meuthen sees the AfD is totally isolated in Europe and foreseeably without any influence. “Nobody from the European right-wing camp wants anything to do with the AfD,” Meuthen told MDR. “They are simply seen as the dirty kids because they have not distanced themselves from extremist positions.”
The right-wing ID group excluded all nine AfD MEPs on Thursday with immediate effect. Previously, AfD top candidate Maximilian Krah had attracted sharp criticism with comments about the Nazi organization SS. Meuthen was himself the AfD’s top candidate for the European elections in 2019, but left the party in a dispute and is now non-affiliated.
“AfD will play no role in the next European Parliament”
Meuthen said that a separation from Krah would no longer benefit the AfD. “Even if they were to completely separate from Max Krah or if he were to leave the party or get kicked out, there are enough others and the factions know that. That is why the AfD will play no role in the next European Parliament.”
In the right-wing ID faction, the powerful French Rassemblement National and the Italian Lega were the first to break with the AfD. It is unclear who the AfD could join forces with after the European elections on June 9. If it remained without a faction, it would lack influence and resources in the European Parliament. The party leadership around chairmen Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel had declared that they were confident that they would “also have reliable partners at our side in the new legislative period”.