Opinion
Marine Le Pen distances herself from the AfD. This is primarily for domestic political reasons – after all, France’s right-wing frontwoman wants to become president in 2027. As a sympathizer of German Nazis, she will hardly be able to do this.
Marine Le Pen is a hard-working politician and has been in the business for a long time. Everything she is currently doing has only one goal: in 2027, she wants to move into the Élysée Palace as president. She is the only candidate who – unless something unplanned comes up – has already been confirmed and is therefore in a permanent election campaign. It is still considered unlikely that the far-right will come to power with her in France. But it is no longer considered impossible. That is her great success.
For decades, Marine Le Pen has been trying to whitewash her “Rassemblement National” (RN) and position it as an electable right-wing nationalist force. A German AfD troublemaker like Maximilian Krah, who trivializes the SS, does not fit into this strategy. He shows too clearly who the RN’s true like-minded people are. That is why there is now a break with Germany’s right-wing extremists.
Marine Le Pen’s party was founded by former SS members
The timing also plays a role in the distancing theater. June 6th marks the anniversary of D-Day and a series of major commemorations are imminent: Eighty years ago, France was liberated from Nazi Germany and its collaborators. An unpleasant anniversary for the Le Penists, because it also reminds us of the origins of their party: former members of the Waffen-SS, fascists and nationalists of various stripes once had a compatible partner in Marine Le Pen’s father, the anti-Semite Jean-Marie Le Pen Found a leading figure and founded the Front National.
For the RN, the European Union and the EU Parliament are not priority issues today. It’s all about how the party is perceived within France. That’s why one would like to be closer to the successful Giorgia Meloni and her group of European Conservatives and Reformers (ECR), and not to the Identity and Democracy (ID) group, in which the foul-mouthed AfD also sits.
Right-wing radicals remain right-wing radicals – no matter what they call themselves
Marine Le Pen no longer wants to be called a right-wing extremist. She wants to erase the legacy of her party from memory. She calls her politics “national-conservative”. However, she owes her rise to power to former leaders of violent right-wing extremist groups. Until recently, she and her party also had business ties with these circles. It’s all over, claims Marine Le Pen. She has become very adept at rhetorically extricating herself from the ideological mud of her party.
The thing is actually quite simple: right-wing radicals remain right-wing radicals. No matter what they call themselves.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
