Scholz turning Germany into 'NATO military outpost': AfD co-leader

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
26 Jun 2024 23:16

Chrupalla also questioned why Germany's NATO allies have not assisted in investigating terrorist attacks on the nation's vital infrastructure, seemingly referencing the explosions at the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in September 2022.

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Afd's top candidate Tino Chrupalla follows the first forecasts on the outcome of the election at the Alternative for Germany party, AfD, election event in Berlin, Sunday, September 26, 2021. (AP)

Tino Chrupalla, co-leader of the right-wing Alternative for Germany party, urged Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday to host peace negotiations on Ukraine within Germany rather than transforming the nation into a NATO "military outpost."

"You are increasingly making us its [NATO’s] military outpost. Make better use of [Hungarian Prime Minister] Viktor Orban's presidency in the EU Council and invite all warring parties to peace talks in Germany. That would be a sign of sovereignty," Chrupalla said, speaking in the German parliament after Scholz.

Chrupalla also questioned why Germany's NATO allies have not assisted in investigating terrorist attacks on the nation's vital infrastructure, seemingly referencing the explosions at the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in September 2022.

In the recent European Parliament elections in Germany, the AfD secured a notable second-place position, marking a substantial improvement from its 2019 performance.

The party advocates for stricter immigration controls and seeks a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine, among other policy objectives.

Earlier this week, German politician Marco Wanderwitz declared that he had persuaded a sufficient number of German parliamentarians to file a move to outlaw the AfD due to purported affiliations with far-right extremists.

AfD member of parliament Eugene Schmidt told Sputnik last Sunday that the attempt to outlaw the party is an anti-democratic process that shows the fear of the German political elite, especially after its performance in the 2024 European Parliament elections.

If the Bundestag goes ahead with the proposal, the Federal Constitutional Court would have to decide whether to consider the AfD's potential ban.

Schmidt said, "It is unknown whether this plan will succeed, but the attempt to ban a democratically elected party, which enjoys enormous support in Germany, demonstrates the anti-democratic attitude of the establishment. At the same time, it shows its desperation: apparently they cannot find any other way to fight the AfD other than to ban it."

He added that Wanderwitz of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has garnered support from The Greens to oust the AfD.