The AfD’s leading candidate for the European elections has fired an employee because of espionage allegations. He still wants to continue the election campaign. The public prosecutor’s office has initiated preliminary investigations.
Maximilian Krah, the AfD’s top candidate for the European Parliament, has never hidden his pro-China positions. Now, however, they seem to be turning against him. After internal party discussions, Krah fired his employee Jian G. The police had previously arrested G. in Dresden on suspicion of spying for China. He is now in custody.
The Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed media reports on Wednesday evening that preliminary investigations had been initiated against Krah. These are two preliminary investigations into possible payments from Russia and China.
The AfD politician Krah wants to continue to act as the top candidate for the time being. However, he will skip the campaign kick-off in Donaueschingen at the weekend in order not to harm the party’s reputation, according to a press release. Krah called the incident “unpleasant” but told media representatives he had no personal wrongdoing to accuse himself of. On May 1st he wants to appear in Dresden at an event organized by his Saxon regional association.
In the statement, party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla emphasize that any influence by foreign states through espionage, but also attempts to buy opinions and positions, must be investigated and strictly stopped. Krah told the NZZ that he found the atmosphere of conversation with Weidel and Chrupalla to be “extremely friendly”.
Problematic relationship with China
He certainly had words of praise for his relationship with Jian G.: “My Chinese employee was very hard-working and present.” He, Krah, is interested in solving the alleged crime that was committed in his office at the European Parliament.
This inconsistency is symptomatic of Krah’s relationship with the autocratic Chinese state. As “Zeit” reported, in 2019 he voted against an EU Parliament resolution calling on Beijing to stop repressing the Uyghur minority in the country. In a video message he congratulated the People’s Republic on its 72nd birthday.
In his book “Politics from the Right,” the AfD politician writes: “Since wokeness is genuinely Western, the enemy is not outside of it. Not Russia, not China, not India, not Africa, not the Islamic world threaten our existence.” Ultimately, they acted defensively against the woke West’s claim to universal power, says Krah.
Krah expects further “media attacks”
In his conversation with the video journalist Tilo Jung, however, Krah emphasized that he always represented German interests. That is why in the past he campaigned for the Chinese company Huawei as an approved 5G provider in Germany. In 2019, Krah traveled to China. The Beijing city government is said to have covered the costs for the overnight stay and the train journey. Krah told Jung: “My political opponents (…) want to say that anyone who sleeps in a business hotel in China is also talking to spies.” That is “completely absurd”.
The reporting seems to think Krah is running a political campaign. He told the NZZ: “I expect further media attacks. The outbuilding was set on fire, now we’re securing the main house.”
Krah no longer wants to justify his proximity to the authoritarian regime: “I haven’t commented on China for a year and I won’t in the future either.”