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- German AfD candidate steps aside after SS comments
German AfD candidate steps aside after SS comments
Earlier Maximilian Krah stated that the SS, the Nazis' main paramilitary force, were 'not all criminals'
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![FILE - Germany's Maximilian Krah, of the German far-right Alternative for Germany party, grimaces during a session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Tuesday, April 23, 2024.](https://cdn.i24news.tv/uploads/ce/6d/93/04/69/f3/3b/da/f1/68/a2/da/4d/7a/fb/9b/ce6d930469f33bdaf168a2da4d7afb9b.jpg?width=1000)
Maximilian Krah, the leading candidate for Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the upcoming European election on Wednesday stepped back from campaigning following the backlash after declaring that the SS, the Nazis' main paramilitary force, were "not all criminals."
Krah said "statements from me are being misused as a pretext to harm our party. The last thing we need right now is a debate about me. The AfD must maintain its unity."
https://x.com/i/web/status/1788851466775453895
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Earlier on Tuesday French far-right leader Marine Le Pen officially made a "clean break" with the AfD. “Following recent statements by the AfD, we will not be sitting with them during the next mandate in the European Parliament,” Caroline Parmentier, a National Rally lawmaker and EU campaign press officer, told POLITICO.
![AP Photo/Daniel Cole](https://cdn.i24news.tv/uploads/e7/54/f9/da/5a/15/a4/39/24/a7/54/b7/cb/e8/95/51/e754f9da5a15a43924a754b7cbe89551.jpg?width=750)
In an interview published over the weekend, Krah told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that "SS were not all criminals".
European election will be held in June, with polls suggesting that nationalist and eurosceptic parties will win a record number of votes over the popular frustration with mainstream parties.