Germany's AfD Bans Scandal-hit Lead Candidate From EU Election Events

Berlin, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd May, 2024) Germany's far-right AfD party on Wednesday banned its leading candidate from EU election campaign events, as it battled to draw a line under a series of scandals that has sparked a break with its French allies.

Maximilian Krah, the Alternative for Germany's top candidate in the upcoming vote, is being investigated for suspicious links to Russia and China.

Compounding the AfD's woes, comments Krah made over the weekend about the SS paramilitary force in Nazi Germany led France's National Rally (RN) party to announce a split with the AfD on Tuesday.

Summoned to a crisis meeting on Wednesday with the AfD's top brass, Krah said following talks that he will leave the party's Federal steering committee.

"The last thing that we need now is a debate about me. The AfD must keep its unity," Krah told Welt newspaper.

"For this reason, I will not make any further campaign appearances and will step down as a member of the federal committee."

Although Krah has become a liability, the anti-immigration party is stuck with him at the top of its list for the June 9 elections, as current rules bar any modifications after March 18.

The only way in which a candidate can be scrapped would be a criminal conviction carrying a jail term of at least five years.

Krah can however himself decide not to take on the MEP mandate following the election.