An associate of a German MEP from the populist Alternative for Germany is accused of spying for China. AfD member of the Bundestag, Petr Bystron, is accused by Czech intelligence of taking money from the Voice of Europe portal – de facto a Russian agent. These are just two of the latest AfD scandals. As the weekly “Der Spiegel” recently reported, the AfD manifesto was written in the Kremlin by one of Vladimir Putin's main propagandists.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping came to Europe for the first time in five years, as talk of Chinese spies becomes more and more loud, for example in Germany. It was speculated that Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was in China a few days before it was revealed that German police had arrested a person suspected of working for Chinese intelligence, would also take part in the talks in Paris. As the spokeswoman for the Prosecutor General, Ines Peterson, said at the time, “this person repeatedly provided information from the European Parliament to Chinese intelligence.”
The arrested person is an associate of German MEP and number one on the list for the European Parliament of the populist Alternative for Germany – Maximilian Kraha. It is known that the suspect is 43 years old and has dual citizenship. – If you think this is the end of my being the main candidate of my party, then I have to disappoint you. What matters now is to refocus the election campaign on European issues and finally move away from this very unpleasant issue, said Krah, commenting on the arrest case.
Krah is known for his pro-Chinese statements – he praised the Chinese occupation of Tibet. He is also suspected of having links with Russia. According to the Bild daily, the leadership of the populist AfD wanted to hide him in the election campaign and banned him from public appearances and hanging posters.
Krah portrays himself as a victim of a conspiracy, but a Chinese spy in his office is not the only problem of Alternative for Germany. – Candidate number one was surrounded by Chinese intelligence, and candidate number two received money from the Russian secret services – points out Bartosz Dudek, editor-in-chief of the Polish section of “Deutsche Welle”.
Candidate number two, Petr Bystron, is accused by the Czech intelligence of taking money from the Voice of Europe portal – de facto a Russian agent.
Alternative for Germany recognized as an extremist organization in three federal states (archived video)Reuters Archive
Accusations of connections with the Kremlin
AfD politicians call themselves patriots, they want to dissolve the current European Union, stop arms supplies to Ukraine and start talks with Russia. The weekly “Der Spiegel” writes about them directly: “traitors”. It was in the Kremlin that the AfD manifesto was to be created and written by one of Vladimir Putin's main propagandists.
– In these difficult and chaotic times, we see our people being bombed and attacked – replies Tino Chrupalla, co-chair of the AfD.
The manifesto states that “uneducated politicians who are unable to predict the consequences of their decisions have dragged Germany into a conflict with Russia, the natural ally of our country and our nation.”
ALSO CHECK: “Der Spiegel” about AfD: “Traitors!” The party's manifesto was to be written in the Kremlin
– We cannot accept spying against us, regardless of the country it comes from. Therefore, they must be identified and those responsible must be arrested and brought to justice, declared Olaf Scholz.
This is not a good time for the Alternative for Germany's image, but although it is losing in the polls before the European elections, it is still high.
Main photo source: Clemens Bilan/PAP/EPA