Far-right AfD reels as German lawmakers slam party over espionage and corruption allegations ( www.politico.eu )

Following allegations of dodgy links to Russia and China, one lawmaker referred to Alternative for Germany as a “party of treason.”

The far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) is in dire trouble as it deals with the fallout of allegations that two of its leading candidates for the European election have dodgy links to Russia and China.

During a debate in parliament today, lawmakers from across the political spectrum slammed the AfD, accusing the party of pandering to authoritarian regimes and presenting a security risk to Germany’s democracy.

The party is “betraying and selling out the German people,” Marc Henrichmann, a lawmaker for the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) said. The AfD, he added, is a “right-wing party of treason.”

Dirk Wiese, a lawmaker belonging to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), accused the AfD of “feigned patriotism,” adding: “Maybe it’s not your own country that you love so much. Maybe it’s dictatorships like China, Russia and Belarus.”

circuscritic ,

What are the odds this is Germany's "deep state" aka bureaucratic institutions stitching them up because they're unable, or unwilling, to democratically stem their rise?

It's not like Western governments haven't been doing that to socialist and Communist parties long before the Cold War even started.

Of course, the news that any contemporary far right organization has ties to Russia, including financial, isn't surprising. Maybe it's a bit of both, because I have serious doubts that Germany's other parties could withstand financial audits tying their members to shady dealings with China either.

Tryptaminev ,

The AfD is openly fascist for anyone who can put one and one together. For instance one of the leading figures in the AfD Björn Höcke lost a defamation lawsuit, because the court ruled that the term "fascist" is not a defamation but a factual statement when referring to Höcke.

The current government is wiggling around not doing anything against them, aside form some photo ops at demonstrations, after plans for mass deportations of all foreigners and "ungerman" Germans discussed by the AfD, the "conservative" CDU and the in between "WerteUnion" (value union) members with Austrian Neonazis.

The week after theses plans were made public by investigative journalists the current government of "social democrats" SPD, "greens" and "liberals" FDP passed a law to make deportations of asylum seekers easier, in particular by denying constitutional rights such as privacy and freedom of movement to them.

Meanwhile the "conservative" party and the "liberals" are claiming not to work with the AfD, while passing laws together with them on the state level or denying funds for holocaust memorials sites, local theatres that are "too left" or organizations that support victims of hate crime and document hate crime.

If there is any form of "deep state" then it is welcoming fascism with open arms.

In regards to the police and internal intelligence there have been dozens of whatsapp or other messenger groups between police members uncovered, where they shared nazi memes, demanded another holocaust and suggested raping women who were victims of crimes. Most of the officers have been suspended with pay at best, not facing any formal disciplinary, leave alone criminal conviciton, despite German hate crime laws. The former head of the interior intelligence Hans-Georg Maaßen had to resign a few years back, after claiming videos of migrants being chased in the streets of Chemnitz to be fake news. He has since found the "WerteUnion" and tries to get CDU and AfD to openly work together. He also posts typical antisemtic conspiracy theories on twitter, again without any consequence.

merthyr1831 ,

"reels" - was disappointed by ___

"slams" - mildly criticises ___

Come back when the AfD fascists are in handcuffs.

thisNotMyName ,

Always surprising for how less money these "patriots" are always willing to sell their country to dictators. Sure 20k is money, but it is at max 3 of his monthly paychecks as a member of the Bundestag.

agressivelyPassive ,

Don't forget that most of these guys are petite bourgeoisie at best, mostly even lower.

They think 10k is a lot and they feel powerful and important because they are invited by russian state media. These are small men from small backgrounds, desperately trying to feel big. Unfortunately, they hit the right sentiment to resonate with a bunch of small people with delusions of national grandeur.

boredtortoise ,

This has been going on everywhere blatantly and there's never repercussions. It's not a surprise that a vote for the far right is a vote for China+Russia

autotldr Bot ,

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) is in dire trouble as it deals with the fallout of allegations that two of its leading candidates for the European election have dodgy links to Russia and China.

During a debate in parliament today, lawmakers from across the political spectrum slammed the AfD, accusing the party of pandering to authoritarian regimes and presenting a security risk to Germany’s democracy.

Dirk Wiese, a lawmaker belonging to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), accused the AfD of “feigned patriotism,” adding: “Maybe it’s not your own country that you love so much.

At the same time, Petr Bystron, second on the AfD’s list for the EU election, is also facing allegations, reported on extensively by the German media outlet Der Spiegel, that he received €20,000 from people with links to Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to spread Kremlin propaganda.

“The AfD willingly throws itself at dictators and autocrats, it rewards corrupt and criminal characters with top positions,” said deputy leader of the FDP parliamentary group, Konstantin Kuhle.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, of the Social Democratic Party, rejected that accusation, stressing that, in Germany, only public prosecutors and courts decide on the timing of arrests — not the government.

The original article contains 631 words, the summary contains 206 words. Saved 67%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

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