Union of values should become a party
Maaßen’s mastermind, “crash prophet” and interface to Reich citizens – that is Markus Krall
Markus Krall is 61 years old and has had contacts in the Reichsbürger scene in the past
© Lindenthaler / Imago Images
The Union of Values has announced that it will found a party from the association. The main driving force behind this movement is Markus Krall. The second man behind Hans-Georg Maaßen is a radical capitalist and dreams of right-wing revolution.
The world regularly ends for Markus Krall. The big financial crash will come – that is certain for him. Even the trained economist doesn’t seem to be entirely sure when. 2019 was his first deadline. He later predicted that the financial market would finally collapse in 2020, only to postpone the date of the apocalypse to 2021. That was more than two years ago, and neither the Corona crisis nor the war in Ukraine have brought the global economy to its knees so far. No reason for Krall not to continue to warn about it. Just a few weeks ago he predicted: The farmers’ protests will be the last straw; in 2024 we will experience a mega-crash in the financial world. End-time fantasies of a prophet of doom.
One could dismiss Krall’s constant warning as the paranoia of a drifting economist. But the 61-year-old could become an important figure in politics in the coming months. Because it was he who initiated the founding of a party from the ““Union of Values”. Behind the chairman of the (still) association Hans-Georg Maaßen, Krall is currently probably the most important member of the group. He is the man next to Maaßen – and his string puller.
Economist, “crash prophet”, radical capitalist: Markus Krall dreams of right-wing upheaval
Krall studied economics in Freiburg and received his doctorate in 1993 on the subject of price formation on the Japanese stock market. He then worked as a risk manager for Allianz, the Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey, among others. He praised the AfD early on in social media posts. From 2019 he became managing director of the company “Degussa Goldhandel”. The company became known for gold transactions that it carried out for the AfD in 2014 and 2015 in order to strengthen the party financially.
Krall represents radical libertarian positions. He wants to abolish the welfare state as completely as possible; on his X-profile he shows himself as a caricature with a chainsaw in his hand. Probably an allusion to the recently elected Argentine President Javier Milei, who campaigned with a chainsaw in order to “curtail” the state.
Krall goes one step further. He dreams of a revolution after which the state will be completely without a democratic government. He sees parties as superfluous and taxes in general would only “squeeze” citizens. He calls for more liberal gun laws in Germany and argues that income and intelligence are correlated. That’s why, in his opinion, unemployed people should lose their right to vote. As do Bafög recipients, party members and everyone who receives funding, subsidies or other transfer payments from the state. In his book “The Civil Revolution”, published in 2020, he also advocates that the Bundestag should only meet 60 days a year and that Germany should be led monarchically by a so-called “electoral king”. There will only be four ministries.
Krall wants the privatization of all public spaces
Politically, Krall was a small light for a long time. He was a CDU member until 2012, but in July 2023 he joined the Union of Values and has since been working on turning the club into a party. For a long time it was not clear how exactly such a party would position itself. According to Maaßen, it should give a political home to all those for whom the CDU has moved too far to the center but the AfD is too extremist. Maaßen has not yet ruled out a coalition with the AfD, probably out of calculation.
Krall becomes even clearer: For him, the Union of Values should become a coalition partner and majority source for the AfD. “Majorities to the right of the left-wing old party bloc” are necessary to “reform Germany,” said the economist on Supporters like Krall represent the position of the minimal state. If possible, no social benefits, no immigrants if possible and a deregulated market – from stock purchases to medical care and the education sector. The sociologist Andreas Kemper therefore calls the movement “anarcho-capitalism”. A free market without any restrictions and without a social safety net.
Krall doubts man-made climate change and spreads fake news. Over the weekend he reposted a picture of the demonstrations against right-wing extremism in Hamburg, claiming it was manipulated. “The lying press exposes itself more and more every day,” was his headline.
Interface in the union of values between libertarians, fascists and fundamental Christians
The libertarian movement has long been misunderstood as a more consistent interpretation of liberalism. But Krall wants nothing other than an overthrow of the democratic system. As research by WDR, NDR and “Süddeutscher Zeitung” shows, he has been maintaining contacts in the Reichsbürger scene for years. Accordingly, he is also with Prince Henry XIII. Reuß, the alleged ringleader of a militant group whose overthrow plans were exposed in December 2022. As part of the investigation, Krall’s house was also searched. Two years earlier, he is said to have worked out the key points for Reuss for a new “Constitution for Germany” for the period after the coup.
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The economist serves as a connecting element within the right-wing extremist scene between libertarian, fascist and fundamental Christian groups. According to Maaßen, “he likes to exaggerate things now and then.” So much so that Krall is initially not expected to hold any office in the Union of Values, even if he is a central hub for extremist forces outside and within the soon-to-be party. In a video on YouTube he stated that he was not seeking office in the party. But he could certainly imagine becoming a minister after the 2025 federal election.
Sources: Southgerman newspaper, The mirror, Interview with Andreas Kemper, Jungleworld