The German far-right party AFD looks set to lose support ahead of the EU elections this summer, according to a new forecast from Euractiv. The party has recently grown to the second largest in the country.
The reduced support can be due to several things, according to the site. Earlier this year, large protests were held against high-ranking politicians in the party discussing the possible forced deportation of Germans with a foreign background. Recently, an investigation was also launched into the top name Maximilian Krah following allegations of connections to Russia and China.
- Our international reputation is ruined, says a source within the party to Euractiv.
According to the forecast, it will be a tie between the AFD and the social democratic SPD as to which party will be the second largest.
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The climate at stake in the election? - "We are at a crossroads"
Despite the fact that a large percentage of young voters highlighted climate change as their most important issue, the green group appears to be backing down in the EU elections, writes Politico.
- We are now at the crossroads of continuing the work with the green given or going back to a fossil standstill, says the Greens' top name Bas Eickhout during a debate on Monday.
In the 2019 elections, youth-led climate protests across Europe put pressure on EU politicians to act, but since then other issues have taken over the focus. In recent months, the EU has also backtracked on promised climate measures.
- People have forgotten the climate. Mainly because of covid, inflation and the cost of living. It is depressing, says student Robert Keogh at Maastricht University.
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von der Leyen warns of the far right: Putin's proxy
Parties in the EU Commission's far-right ID group constitute "Putin's proxies" and want to destroy the EU from within with disinformation and polarization. This was said by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during a debate in Maastricht on Monday.
ID includes, among others, Germany's AFD, France's National Gathering and Denmark's Dansk folkeparti, whose parliamentarian Anders Vistisen also participated in the debate. He, in turn, was sharply critical of von der Leyen.
- No one has ever voted for you, and that is not worthy of a European democracy. That is why you will be the first one we will fire, he said according to DR.
Candidates for the post of EU Commission president from the various groups in the parliament took part in the debate. According to The Guardian, however, it is unlikely that anyone in practice will be able to threaten von der Leyen, who has held the job since 2019.
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