The far-right IS group in the European Parliament kicks out the MEPs from the German "Alternative for Germany" joined their ranks. AzG is clearly too extreme even for the far-right in Brussels and Strasbourg.
All nine MEPs from "Alternative for Germany" (AzG) were kicked out by the far-right group "Identity and Democracy". (ID) in the European Parliament. The initiators - the Italian party "League" and the French "National Assembly" - they argued that they crossed the "red line" from AzG. In front of an Italian publication, the leading candidate of the AzG, Maximilian Cra, tried to downplay the crimes of the Nazi SS organization, which during the Second World War committed war crimes and crimes against humanity also in France. In the meantime, Kra left the leadership of AzG, but remained on the party's list of candidates for the European elections.
This behavior of the AZG does not fit the concept of Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French "National Assembly", who has been trying for years to make the party founded by her father look more moderate. In addition, Le Pen hopes from the third attempt (in the elections in 2027) to become the president of France. In the attitudes ahead of the European elections next month, her party leads convincingly ahead of President Emmanuel Macron's liberals.
The rift on the right
The first "red line" was passed by "Alternative for Germany" last winter, when it became clear that people from this party participated in a conference where extremists discussed the mass extradition of foreigners, including refugees granted asylum in Germany.
Another dividing line among the European far-right is drawn by Russian aggression against Ukraine. The group "Identity and Democracy" harbored Russia-friendly right-wing parties. And the Polish national conservatives from "PiS" and "Italian Brothers" of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who are the supporters of Ukraine, found a place in the "European Conservatives and Reformists" faction. (ECR).
This line seems to be gradually blurring. Marine Le Pen and Giorgia Meloni no longer rule out the possibility of working together in a new, common parliamentary group after the European elections. It seems that the German right-wing populists of the AzG - with their closeness to Russia and harsh anti-European rhetoric - do not fit in at all with this emerging alliance of the French "National Assembly", "Italian Brothers" and the Polish "PiS".
In Germany, AzG collects about 15%
Opinion polls suggest that right-wing populists, nationalists and the far-right could make major gains in these European elections and gain up to a quarter of the 720 seats in the European Parliament. In Germany, support for the ADP has dropped a few points due to the turmoil surrounding Maximilian Kra, and is now hovering around 15 percent. But the party still has a chance to become the second political force in Germany after the Christian Democrats.