The far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) is in dire trouble as it deals with the fallout of allegations that two of its leading candidates for the European election have dodgy links to Russia and China. During a debate in parliament today, lawmakers from across the political spectrum slammed the AfD, accusing the party of pandering to authoritarian regimes and presenting a security risk to Germany’s democracy. The party is “betraying and selling out the German people,” Marc Henrichmann, a lawmaker for the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) said. The AfD, he added, is a “rig ..read more

Far-right German MEP Maximilian Krah refused to quit the European election race Wednesday, despite allegations that his top aide was spying for China. Krah, from the Alternative for Germany party (AfD), announced in Berlin that he would fire the assistant accused of espionage, but that he would not step down as the party’s lead candidate for the European election, just six weeks away. “If you think this is the end of my candidacy, then I have to disappoint you,” said Krah on Wednesday. “I am and will remain the lead candidate.” The AfD is currently polling in second place in Germany, but ..read more

Fears of an escalation of the fighting in the Middle East following Iran’s attack on Israel are prompting European leaders to take protective measures. French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné on Sunday issued a statement recommending that French nationals living in Iran “temporarily leave the country.” The German Foreign Office has asked its citizens to do the same. “Due to the new level reached overnight by Iran and the risk of military escalation, the French embassy recommends to French residents in Iran who have the possibility, depending on the resumption of international air traffic, to ..read more

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen slammed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party over allegations that some of its top members are linked with a scandal involving dissemination of pro-Russian propaganda. “I am not surprised that the Czech secret service is currently investigating two candidates at the top of the AfD’s list for the European elections,” von der Leyen said Friday evening at a Christian Democratic Union (CDU) gathering in Hildesheim, Lower Saxony. “They have long been agitating against the European Union,” she said. “They have never made a secret of the ..read more

Germany’s transport minister is threatening to ban driving on weekends to meet climate goals if the ruling coalition does not pass reforms to the Climate Protection Act by July. “The fact that the amendment is still not in force leads to considerable legal and factual uncertainties,” liberal politician Volker Wissing wrote in a letter to the parliamentary group leaders of the coalition, German outlet BILD reported Thursday. “This serves neither the climate nor the reputation of the federal government,” he said. A reduction in traffic to help meet the climate goals would only be possible throug ..read more

Paul Ronzheimer is the deputy editor-in-chief of BILD and a senior journalist reporting for Axel Springer, the parent company of POLITICO. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sharply criticized German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for refusing to provide Kyiv with German-made Taurus cruise missiles and suggested the reluctance is based on his desire to keep the weapons for Berlin’s own defense against a threat from Russia. “As far as I understand, the chancellor believes that, as he is a representative of a non-nuclear state, this is is the only weapon that Germany has, is the most powerful one ..read more

France’s EU Commissioner Thierry Breton said French President Emmanuel Macron actually “loved” his social media swipe at European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Breton’s dig at the Commission chief, who is also his boss, stirred criticism in Brussels and Paris when he published it on March 7 — but the European internal market commissioner is defiant. “You should know that I leave nothing to chance, I wait for the right moment,” Breton told Libération, which published a long profile about him on Monday.  Breton said that von der Leyen, in a “totally unprecedented move,” had bre ..read more

BRUSSELS — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that her head of Cabinet will run her campaign for a second five-year term in the job. Björn Seibert will take two months of unpaid leave from his position as von der Leyen’s right hand at the Commission in the lead-up to the European election on June 6-9. According to EU guidelines for members of the Commission — such as von der Leyen — participating in the EU election, they must not use any human resources of the European Commission for their campaigns. Von der Leyen’s campaign spokesperson will be Alexander Winters ..read more

Botswana this week threatened to lump Germany with 20,000 excess elephants, as it struggles to combat a pachydermous overpopulation problem. The president of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi, insisted he wasn’t joking about it, but what are the chances that tens of thousands of elephants could one day be stampeding through the Black Forest or the beer halls of Munich? In short, it’s not very likely. Transporting tens of thousands of the giant animals to the other side of the world would be a tall order even for Noah. Also, expensive for all involved. But but but … let’s say the elephants did end up ..read more

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced on Thursday a revamp of the country’s military to make it fit for fighting a war. The aim is “to restructure the Bundeswehr in such a way that it is optimally positioned even in the event of an emergency, in the event of defense, in the event of war,” he said when making the announcement. The new German military will be organized into four branches — the traditional army, navy and air force as well as a new cyber and information space branch. There will also be operational and support commands. The new cyber branch will be responsible for deali ..read more