BRUSSELS (AP) — A far-right German party poised for big gains in the upcoming European elections suffered another setback Thursday when it was expelled from a right-wing group in the European Parliament.
The Identity and Democracy group has decided to expel the Alternative for Germany from the group with immediate effect, the Italian party La Lega, which is a member of the group, said in a statement. Alternative for Germany said it “acknowledged” the decision.
The move comes amid growing controversy surrounding the Alternative for Germany’s main candidate for the European elections, Maximilan Krah.
On Wednesday, the party banned Krah from making further campaign appearances after he told an Italian newspaper that not all members of the Nazis’ elite SS unit, which was involved in major war crimes during World War II , were war criminals.
Krah was already under scrutiny after authorities in Brussels searched their offices in the European Parliament in connection with one of its assistants who were arrested last month under suspicion of spying for China.
