Next AfD power struggle: Maximilian Krah’s declaration of war

Even in the moment that ended his career for the time being, Maximilian Krah had his typical broad smile on his face. Only this time it hardly had the desired effect.

When Krah appeared before the press in Berlin on Monday, his shock was clearly visible. The newly elected AfD MEPs had just excluded him from their future delegation – him, his party’s top candidate.

The result was extremely close. Eight of the 15 MPs voted against Krah, seven voted for him or abstained. Instead, the former Thuringian state parliament member René Aust, who was in third place on the list, is to lead the negotiations on the formation of the parliamentary group in Brussels.

The decision was “a mistake” and a “wrong path,” said Krah. Then he smiled again: “You know, Mr. Aust is an honorable man” and will “certainly lead with great skill and hopefully with success.”

That wasn’t just sarcasm. It was a declaration of war. Anyone who knows Krah knew that he, who fought his way to the top spot against all odds and later weathered all the espionage and corruption scandals, would fight with all the means at his disposal.

One of these means is the Internet, which Krah masters like few other German politicians. It only took a few hours for social networks and AfD-affiliated Telegram groups to be flooded with protests. Aust was accused of treason hundreds of times and insulted in every conceivable way.

Krah’s resources also include support from some of the East German regional associations. Not only in Saxony, where Krah comes from, but also in Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt, boards and members tend to support Krah.

And: His resources include the so-called front line of the AfD, i.e. the party-affiliated publications, organizations and influencers. The right-wing “Deutschlandkurier” and the no less extreme “Compact” magazine started a petition with the title: “Max Krah must be a member of the AfD delegation in the EU Parliament!”

The designated delegation leader Aust shows nerves

Aust is now showing nerves. On Wednesday he announced a statement on X, only to retract the announcement hours later. “I was asked not to take part in the public spectacle,” he wrote. “As a party, we do not need any more spectacle.”

Most of the comments were devastating. For the star the designated head of delegation could not be reached.

However, Aust is not alone, but is supported by a broad alliance within the AfD. This includes the federal chairmen Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, the network of young politicians around Bundestag parliamentary group vice-chairman Sebastian Münzenmaier – and the powerful Thuringian association, which is led by Björn Höcke. Aust is one of his deputies.

But why is Krah being isolated? The party cites three main reasons.

Krah questions AfD’s ability to connect

Firstly, the MEP is now inextricably linked to the suspicion of espionage against his colleague Jian G. as well as allegations of corruption with Russian connections. Moreover, no one knows what other scandals may come.

Secondly, Krah, who is called “Schampus-Max” at home in Dresden, is jeopardising the attempt by Weidel, Chrupalla and Münzenmaier to professionalise the party with his extroverted and constantly provocative demeanour.

Presentations like the one in Bavaria in May are viewed with particular criticism. Krah drove up in a sports car convertible wearing a fringed jacket and a can of Coke Zero in his hand. He then gave a speech between two women in dirndls, even though he had promised Chrupalla and Weidel that he would no longer appear in the election campaign.

This unpredictability permanently calls into question the AfD’s ability to connect, which leads to the decisive and third reason: Krah is considered the biggest obstacle to cooperation with Marine Le Pen’s and Giorgia Meloni’s parties in the European Parliament. After all, the right-wing Identity and Democracy (ID) group, which includes the Rassemblement National, excommunicated the AfD shortly before the election with explicit reference to Krah.

But not everyone in the party is convinced by these reasons. This includes Götz Kubitschek, the self-proclaimed Nestor of the so-called New Right. He came forward with a long text in which he predicted complete failure for Krah’s opponents: “Aust will fail, his delegation will not be accepted into the ID faction even without Krah, and Höcke will be damaged in the process.”

Kubitschek was at least partially right on Thursday. A spokesman for Weidel confirmed that the ID faction did not want to accept the AfD back, at least for the time being. Le Pen made this decision with representatives of other parties.

This automatically gives Krah the chance for revenge. Internally, he has long been planning to form a new faction with the AfD as its centre. He would rather be the king in a small kingdom than just a marginal figure in a large country, according to the party. That is why he has recently cultivated intensive contacts with various parties. According to information from the star These include the Confederation of Freedom and Independence (Konfederacja) from Poland, the Republika Slovak Republic and Vazrazhdane from Bulgaria.

Race to form new faction

On Thursday, Krah confirmed these ambitions publicly for the first time. “I have been advising this for two years and I continue to do so,” he told starIt is about “taking control of the situation and forming our own faction”.

At the same time, according to information from the star to set up a new group. Time is running out: the parliamentary groups must be formed by July 3rd, each of which must consist of at least 25 representatives from seven states. The AfD has 15 representatives.

If the formation of a parliamentary group fails, it would be expensive for the party, according to the European Parliament. The AfD could lose out on a low double-digit million amount in public funds. In addition, there would be less speaking time and rights for motions or events.

The interesting thing about the power struggle is that it is hardly based on ideological friction. Krah sometimes presents himself as a market liberal and seeks proximity to Russia and China more aggressively than other leading politicians. But overall, he differs only slightly from Chrupalla, Höcke or Münzenmaier.

Höcke also intervenes publicly

But that doesn’t seem to matter. In the meantime, the AfD has become all against all. On Thursday afternoon, Höcke and his co-state leader Stefan Möller published a statement that was unusually harsh, even by AfD standards. “We condemn in the strongest possible terms the deeply defamatory campaign initiated by supporters of Maximilian Krah against our Thuringian party friend and colleague René Aust,” it said.

Even Götz Kubitschek seems to have lost track of things. “This power struggle” is even “harder to understand” than before, he wrote. And AfD federal vice-chairman Stephan Brandner, also a Thuringian party member, sounded downright frustrated. “It would have been more pleasant if we had been able to communicate our great electoral success in the EU elections for a few days longer,” he told the star. “Unfortunately, negative headlines quickly emerged.”