At the AfD family festival
Maximilian Krah appears in public again
By Tom Kollmar
May 1, 2024, 7:06 p.m
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The break lasted a few days. In Dresden, top candidate Krah speaks to his regional association on the big stage. The party leader Chrupalla, also on site, is trying to keep the issue of espionage down.
When Maximilian Krah steps onto the stage at the Neumarkt in Dresden, his fan club is already waiting for him. Members of the AfD youth organization JA hold signs in the air. It says “Dare to demonstrate more” or “Full strength ahead”. You can also read what role you expect the Saxons to play in the future: “Our Krahnzler.”
“Hello Dresden,” says the man who grew up in the city, studied there and worked as a lawyer. “Home is where you don’t have to explain yourself,” says Krah – and then does so in his speech. He speaks for almost 25 minutes.
On May 1st, the AfD invited people to a family festival in Dresden’s old town. Beer stand, grilled sausages in a bun for 3.50 euros, balloons in AfD sky blue. Not far from the Frauenkirche and under the watchful eye of Martin Luther there are beer tables, umbrellas protect the party supporters from the sun. The place is well filled. Several thousand are expected throughout the day, says a party official.
AfD is family-friendly
The state association was classified by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as “certainly right-wing extremist”, and on Labor Day it sells itself as family-friendly and close to the people. For the little ones there is popcorn from AfD cups, for the older ones there are wooden barbecue tongs with the party logo. This would be unthinkable in many parts of Germany. In Dresden, the AfD celebrates itself in the center of the city.
The list of guests is prominent: the federal party chairman Tino Chrupalla, state chairman and top candidate for the upcoming election in the Free State Jörg Urban – and Krah. He would like to talk about peace. He calls for an end to arms deliveries, but at the same time does not mention the Russian war of aggression. “Europe doesn’t always need new artillery ammunition, war and death,” he says. This is well received by the audience.
For the European top candidate, May 1st is the first day of public appearances since the affair surrounding Jian G., his research assistant. The German-Chinese is in custody and the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office accuses him of spying for the Chinese secret service. Also from the office of MEP Krah, where G. has been employed since 2019.
Krah forgoes bathing in the crowd
In Dresden, Krah does what he does best: attack. “The open borders. The war in Ukraine. This is not the work of spies. This is the work of incompetent politicians. And we want them gone in the next elections,” he shouts from the stage. With its back to the wall and investigations into espionage and corruption in front of its chest, the AfD is resorting to tried and tested methods: the government, judiciary and media have all conspired against the party.
At the beginning of the week, Krah had already made serious allegations against the German security authorities in an interview with “Stern”. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution obviously had knowledge, did not inform him and then dropped the “bomb” shortly before the election date. The timing and manner of action were “not a coincidence”. “I hope that people believe that even if they are not AfD-affiliated.”
In any case, his AfD-affinous fans in Dresden believe him. “There are always some accusations,” claims one. “Conspiracy,” whispers another. When asked whether they find it problematic that Krah is given the big stage in Dresden, most people answer with just one word: no. “All the best, Mr. Krah,” an older man calls out to him over the construction fence that shields the backstage area of the stage. The supporters don’t come any closer to him that day. Krah forgoes the bath in the crowd. And the JA members who are now waiting behind the stage with their posters after the performance also come away empty-handed.
Krah goes, Chrupalla comes
It is remarkable that the MEP is allowed to appear here in Dresden. In a crisis meeting in Berlin, Krah and the party leadership agreed, as all sides emphasize, that Krah will not make any public appearances for the time being. The break lasted less than a week. This is also because his home district association Dresden is the organizer of the “Spring and Family Festival”, as it is officially called. While the parliamentary group in the Bundestag is increasingly critical of Krah, and some even consider him intolerable, he is not a problem for the association and the grassroots in Saxony.
At least that’s what state chairman Urban claims. “We stand by our people,” he said on the sidelines of the event. Are there no critical voices in the regional association that oppose Krah? Urban: “I haven’t heard any.” Then he apologizes. He had to go on shaking hands.
The audience in Dresden does not find out how the Saxon and federal party leader Chrupalla feels about this. In his speech he does not address the affair and Chrupalla does not mention the name of his party colleague. Otherwise it seems as if both sides are making every effort to keep their distance from each other. After his speech, Krah quickly disappears again and speeds away in the dark limousine that the party provides him with a chauffeur. About half an hour later Chrupalla drives up. After all, he was able to use the parking space of the previous speaker.