Maximilian Krah

Last updated

Maximilian Krah
MEP
Maximilian Krah.jpg
Krah in 2016
Member of the European Parliament
for Germany
Assumed office
2 July 2019 [1] [2]
Personal details
Born (1977-01-28) 28 January 1977 (age 47)
Räckelwitz, East Germany
Political party Alternative for Germany (since 2016)
Other political
affiliations		 Christian Democratic Union of Germany (1991–2016)

Maximilian Krah (born January 28, 1977) is a German lawyer and self-described right-wing politician. [3] [4] He is serving as a member of the European Parliament for the far-right Alternative for Germany. [5]

Contents

In April 2024 Krah gained international attention, when the German Prosecutor General arrested the assistant to AfD MEP and European election top candidate Krah, Jian Guo in suspicion of spying for China by passing on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to his intelligence service. [6] [7] [8] [9]

Biography

Krah grew up in Upper Lusatia as the youngest of three children. His mother was a teacher and his father Peter Krah was an engineer, an executive for the local chapter of the Christian Democratic Union and later an advisor to the Ministry for Interior and Sports of Lower Saxony. [10] After high school, Krah studied law at the Technical University of Dresden followed by an MBA at the London Business School and the Columbia Business School in New York. In 2004 he completed state examinations to practice as a lawyer and was called to the bar in 2005. He also ran a law firm in Dresden with two colleagues. [11] [12]

Krah lives in Dresden. He is a practicing Catholic, is widowed and has eight children by three women. [10] [13] [14] [15]

Political Positions

Krah rejects the term “conservative” for himself and the AfD; he clearly describes his political affiliation as “right-wing”. [16] Within the party, Krah is considered a follower of Der Flügel within the AfD under the informal leadership of the Thuringian party leader Björn Höcke. [17] Höcke also supported Krah's candidacy as the AfD's top candidate for the 2024 European elections. [18]

Krah has given several lectures at the "Institute for State Policy (IfS)" of Götz Kubitschek, which the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified as “certainly right-wing extremist”. [18] In 2023, Krah also published his book “Politics from the Right” in the publishing house of the institute “Verlag Antaios”. A manifesto; that is explicitly “anti-rule of law, anti-international law, anti-ethical,” said AfD member of the Bundestag Norbert Kleinwächter. [19]

International Policy

Krah rejects the European Union, which did not prevent him from being elected to its parliament. He calls for a “great reset” for the EU. He called the European Union a “vassal of the United States.” [20]

Influencer for PR China

In November 2022, the Global Times, the Chinese Communist Party's newspaper, published a long interview with Krah. With a view to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, Krah said: "Waging America's wars is not in our interest and not in the interest of the Ukrainians." Cooperation between Russia, China, Brazil and the EU would be more attractive "than a new Cold War under the leadership of the USA”. [21]

Krah congratulated the Chinese government in a video on the 70th birthday of the People's Republic. [20] He also congratulated the 70th anniversary of the Chinese occupation of Tibet: “You are now celebrating 70 years of the Tibet Autonomous Region, I think you have every reason to be proud of what you have achieved.” [21]

In 2023 Krah traveled to China at the expense of the Chinese government. He had several conversations with the Chinese intelligence service IDCPC. He later campaigned for Chinese economic interests in Germany against the line of his right-wing radical nationalist party AfD. An employee from his environment received amounts of money from China before and after his trip. [22]

There is a Chinese network of relationships: Krah confidante Torsten Voss sits on the board of the association “Neue Seidenstraße e. V.”(New Silkroad) [21] On 23 April 2024, German police arrested Krah's parliamentary aide Jian G., a German of Chinese origin, on suspicion of spying for China. [23]

Influencer for Russia

Krah was involved in the uncoverd Russian Influencial Network "Voice of Europe". In 2024 he denied to receive any money from Russia-connected people.

In December 2023, Krah traveled to the USA and attended a Young Republicans event in New York City.

There, the pro-Russian activist Oleg Voloshyn wrote to him in chat messages that the problem with “compensations” for “technical expenses” had been solved and that from May onwards “it will be as it was before February”. The FBI became aware of this while observing Oleg Voloshin and heard Krah in NYC. [24] [25]

The wording used in the chats suggests that Krah may have been paid from Russia for a long time. Only after German media reported on it did Krah admit the interrogation in April 2024. [24]

Political career

Krah joined the Junge Union in 1991, the youth wing of the CDU. During his studies he was also active in the Association of Christian Democratic Students. Krah left the CDU in 2016. [26] In that same year, Krah joined Alternative for Germany and was elected deputy chairman of the AfD Saxony in February 2018. [27] [28]

In 2019, Krah was elected as an MEP for the AfD. [29] In the European Parliament he sits as a member of the Identity and Democracy group and is a member of the committees for Relations with the United States, International Trade (INTA) and Deputy Member of the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. He also served as the spokesman for the AfD in the European Parliament until 2022. [30]

Krah ran for the election on June 12, 2022 as Mayor of Dresden. He received 14.2 percent of the votes and came in 4th place behind Mayor Dirk Hilbert, Eva Jähnigen and Albrecht Pallas. In the second round of voting, Krah lost again with 12.2 percent, coming in third place behind Dirk Hilbert and Eva Jähnigen. [31]

In July 2023 he was named as the AFD top candidate in the 2024 European Parliament election. [32]

Cooperation with other right-wing politicians

Krahs is very active on TikTok and tries to reach 16-year-old first-time voters. Krah's social media strategy is carefully orchestrated with the help of another right-wing political activist. [33] [34] [35]

Financial influence cases

In February 2023, Krah was suspended from the "Identity and Democracy" (ID) parliamentary group, to which the AfD belongs in the EU Parliament, due to allegations of fraud. Krah's office had obtained offers for advertising services from three companies that were strikingly similar - including typos. The tender was stopped. After an anonymous letter to the EU anti-corruption authority OLAF, the office got involved. The investigation concluded without further action. [36]

Krah is closely linked to the AfD candidate Arno Bausemer. During the election campaign, the media revealed that Bausemer had invented parts of his CV. In the summer, Krah tried to influence Bausemer's ex-girlfriend, the AfD politician Bianca Wolter. He wanted to ensure that Wolter did not comment negatively on Bausemer. He promised her financial benefits for her and her child if Bausemer was elected to the EU Parliament. [37]

Employing a potential Chinese spy

At the end of April 2024, the German Public Prosecutor General had Maximilan Krah's parliamentary employee Jian Guo arrested by the German police and searched it home. Jian Guo is said to work for the Chinese secret service MSS; German public prosecutor’s office said about Jian G.: “the accused repeatedly passed on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to his intelligence service client.” He is also said to have been in Chinese dissident circles and to have spied on the Chinese democratic opposition in Germany. [38] Krah brought Guo into his team in Brussels as an assistant in 2019 after he was elected to the European Parliament. [39]

The EU Parliament has suspended the accused employee from duty. "Following the decision of the German judicial authorities to arrest a person currently working as an accredited assistant (APA) in the European Parliament, and given the seriousness of the revelations, Parliament has suspended the person in question with immediate effect," the parliament said. [40]

Reactions

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) spoke of “extremely serious” allegations. [40]

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP) said, that the employee of the AfD-EU top candidate presumably works for the Chinese secret service, should not surprise his boss. In addition, number two on the AfD European list, Bundestag member Petr Bystron, is suspected paid by Russia. “Both should, based on human discretion, resign their candidacy instead of further damaging our country. ... These are really nice ‘patriots’ who are constantly selling Germany to China and Russia,” said Strack-Zimmermann. [41]

The NGO Lobbycontrol accused Maximilian Krah of failing to investigate allegations of espionage against his employee Jian Guo. “The suspicion of espionage against his employee has been known since 2023, and Krah did not draw any conclusions at the time,” explained Aurel Eschmann from Lobbycontrol. In doing so, Krah “endangered not only the integrity of the EU, but also its security interests.” Eschmann emphasized that Krah was “no longer tenable” as the AfD’s top candidate for the European elections. “He should also resign his mandate in the EU Parliament immediately.” [41]

Krah himself said, he was surprised. [40]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Graf Lambsdorff</span> German politician

Alexander Sebastian Léonce von der Wenge Graf Lambsdorff, commonly known as Alexander Graf Lambsdorff is a German politician of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, who has been serving as the German ambassador to Russia since 2023.

The Military Counterintelligence Service is one of the three federal intelligence agencies in Germany, and is responsible for military counterintelligence within Bundeswehr. The MAD is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Defense.

Free Voters is a centre-right political party in Germany. The party originates as an umbrella organisation of several Free Voters Associations, associations of people which participate in an election without having the status of a registered party. These associations are usually locally-organised groups of voters in the form of a registered association (eV). In most cases, Free Voters campaign only at local government level, standing for city councils and for mayoralties. Free Voters tend to achieve their most successful electoral results in rural areas of southern Germany, appealing most to conservative voters who prefer local decisions to party politics. Free Voter groups are active in all of the states of Germany.

Gunnar Beck is a German politician, academic and lawyer. He is Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. He currently holds the position of deputy leader of the AfD within the European Parliament, as well as Vice-President of the Identity & Democracy Group. He previously was, and currently remains, a reader in law at the SOAS, University of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alternative for Germany</span> Far-right political party in Germany

Alternative for Germany is a right-wing populist political party in Germany. AfD is known for its Euroscepticism, as well as for opposing immigration to Germany. Described as a party of the far-right, the AfD is commonly positioned on the radical right, a subset of the far-right within the family of European political parties that generally does not reject democracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernd Lucke</span> German economist and politician

Bernd Lucke is a German economist, professor, author and former politician. He was a co-founder of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in 2013 and served as the party's federal chairman. He was elected a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for AfD in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans-Georg Maaßen</span> German civil servant and lawyer

Hans-Georg Maaßen is a German civil servant and lawyer. From 1 August 2012 to 8 November 2018, he served as the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic security agency and one of three agencies in the German Intelligence Community. Maaßen is one of the founders and, since January 2023 also president, of the Values Union, a German registered association, converted in 2024 to a political party, that consists mostly of members of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany seeking to reestablish their party's conservative roots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frauke Petry</span> German businesswoman and politician (born 1975)

Frauke Petry is a German politician who chaired the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party from July 2015 to September 2017. A chemist by training and with a professional background as a businesswoman, some political scientists described Petry as a representative of the national conservative wing of that party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Identity and Democracy Party</span> European political party

The Identity and Democracy Party, abbreviated to ID Party and formerly known as the Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom (MENF), is an alliance of nationalist, right-wing populist and eurosceptic European political parties founded in 2014. The party has been described as both right-wing and far-right. Its political group in the European Parliament was Europe of Nations and Freedom, which was succeeded in 2019 by Identity and Democracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Björn Höcke</span> Far-right German politician (born 1972)

Björn Höcke is a German politician and a member of Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). Along with Andreas Kalbitz, Höcke was the leader of the AfD's far-right Der Flügel faction, which the German government's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution declared a right-wing extremist organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jörg Meuthen</span> German economist and politician (born 1961)

Jörg Hubert Meuthen is a German economist, academic and politician, serving as an Independent Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Germany since 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petr Bystron</span> German politician (born 1972)

Petr Bystron is a German politician. He was a candidate for Munich North for the Bundestag during the German federal election in 2017 for the far-right Alternative for Germany party. Czech intelligent service BIS presented evidence in 2024 that Bystron was bribed by Russia to represent its interests in the European Parliament and German Bundestag.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Kurth (politician)</span> German politician (born 1960)

Peter Kurth is a German politician and lobby-manager who served as State Minister of Finance (Senator) in Berlin from 1999 until 2001. He is active in far-right networks and is supporting neo-facist activities in Germany and Austria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 European Parliament election</span> Upcoming election for the 10th European Parliament

The 2024 European Parliament election is scheduled to be held on 6 to 9 June 2024. This will be the tenth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first European Parliament election after Brexit. This election will also coincide with a number of other elections in the European Union.

<i>Der Flügel</i> Far-right faction of the Alternative for Germany

Der Flügel is a far-right faction within Germany's Alternative for Germany, a right-wing populist opposition party. The group was led by Björn Höcke and Andreas Kalbitz. Approximately 20 percent of AfD members are organized also in the "Flügel". Following the request by the AfD executive board to dissolve Der Flügel by the end of April 2020, the group's online presence went offline. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) has no reliable knowledge of an actual dissolution. Within the party, Der Flügel now calls itself the "social-patriotic faction".

A large part of the right-wing German party Alternative for Germany (AfD) supports Russia, its foreign policy, and its allies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine Anderson</span> German politician

Christine Margarete Anderson is a German politician who has served as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. A member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), Anderson is a former activist of the Pegida movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guido Reil</span> German politician

Guido Reil is a German politician who is serving as an Alternative for Germany Member of the European Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Wagener</span> German politician (born 1980)

Robin Till Nils Johannes Wagener is a German judge and politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens who has been a member of the Bundestag in the 2021 German federal election, representing the Lippe I district.

<i>The European Conservative</i> Hungarian conservative monthly magazine

The European Conservative is a pan-European conservative English-language publication registered in Budapest, Hungary, with an editorial office in Vienna, Austria, and news offices in Brussels, Belgium and Rome, Italy. It focuses on philosophy, politics, culture, and the arts. It publishes articles, essays, interviews, and reviews about different kinds of conservative, traditionalist, reactionary, and right-wing thought in Europe and across the world.

References

  1. ↑ "Key dates ahead". European Parliament. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  2. ↑ "Key dates ahead". BBC News. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  3. ↑ Laschyk, Thomas (1 February 2019). "AfDler erklärt offen, warum sie vom Verfassungsschutz beobachtet werden müssen". Volksverpetzer (in German). Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  4. ↑ Volk, Volkssouveränität, Verfassung - Dr. Maximilian Krah beim IfS , retrieved 29 July 2023
  5. ↑ "Alle Gewählte in alphabetischer Reihenfolge". Der Bundeswahlleiter (in German). Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  6. ↑ "Germany spying: Far-right party aide held in China spy probe". 23 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  7. ↑ Picheta, Rob (23 April 2024). "Germany arrests aide to far-right MEP on suspicion of spying for China". CNN. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  8. ↑ "German far-right MEP's assistant accused of being a Chinese spy". Le Monde.fr. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  9. ↑ Nyheter, S. V. T. (23 April 2024). "Tysk gripen misstänkt för spioneri – medhjälpare till toppkandidat i EU-valet". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  10. 1 2 Doreen Reinhard: Radikaler Aufsteiger. In: Zeit Online, 16 May 2019.
  11. ↑ Weiler Krah Petersen http://www.wkp.legal/ . Retrieved 30 June 2019.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ↑ Kurzbiographie Dr. Maximilian Krah, MBA at the Wayback Machine (archived 2019-08-27), Website der Kanzlei Weiler Krah Petersen, retrieved 30 August 2019.
  13. ↑ AfD.de: Europawahlkandidaten at the Wayback Machine (archived 2019-05-13)
  14. ↑ Dirk Hein; Franziska Klemenz; Ulrich Wolf (25 May 2022), "Maximilian der Identitäre", Sächsische Zeitung (in German)
  15. ↑ "Dating-Tipps von Maximilian Krah sorgen für Häme". www.saechsische.de (in German). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  16. ↑ Joswig, Gareth (27 July 2023). "AfD-Parteitag in Magdeburg: Rechts, radikal, unbeliebt". Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). ISSN   0931-9085 . Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  17. ↑ Joswig, Gareth (20 March 2023). "Neuer Vorstand der AfD Berlin: Rechtsaußen ist noch ein bisschen Platz". Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). ISSN   0931-9085 . Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  18. 1 2 "Maximilian Krah: Das ist der AfD-Spitzenkandidat für die EU". ZDFheute (in German). 29 July 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  19. ↑ Preuß, Roland (29 July 2023). "Maximilian Krah als AfD-Spitzenkandidat: Abriss mit Ansage". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  20. 1 2 Kissler, Alexander (1 July 2023). "Beim Russen buckeln gehen? Die AfD streitet über ihren aussenpolitischen Kurs". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). ISSN   0376-6829 . Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  21. 1 2 3 Huesmann, Jan Sternberg,Can Merey,Felix (7 July 2023). "Alice Weidel in Peking: Warum Chinas Kommunisten die AfD hofieren". www.rnd.de (in German). Retrieved 24 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ↑ "Krahs China-Gate: Geld, Geheimdienste und ein Mann namens G." www.t-online.de (in German). 1 October 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  23. ↑ New York Times (23 April 2024): Germany Arrests Far-Right Lawmaker’s Aide on Suspicion of Spying for China, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/23/world/europe/germany-china-spying.html
  24. 1 2 "„Kompensationen für technische Ausgaben": FBI befragte AfD-Politiker Krah zu möglichen Zahlungen aus Russland". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). ISSN   1865-2263 . Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  25. ↑ "Germania-Usa: Krah (Afd) interrogato dall'Fbi per i contatti con la Russia". Agenzia Nova (in Italian). Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  26. ↑ Lars Wienand (20 September 2016). "Ein Schwuler und ein Rechtsaußen werben für den CDU-Austritt". Berliner Morgenpost. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  27. ↑ "Einst CDU-Rechtsaußen, nun AfD-Vize". Saechsische.de. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  28. ↑ "Landesvorstand Sachsen". AfD Sachsen (in German). Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  29. ↑ "AfD-Kandidatinnen beklagen "EU-Albtraum"". Zeit Online. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  30. ↑ Dr. Nicolaus Fest ist neuer Leiter der AfD-Delegation im EU-Parlament , Website der Fraktion Identität & Demokratie, 9 February 2022, retrieved 17 June 2022.
  31. ↑ Landeshauptstadt Dresden. "Oberbürgermeisterwahl 2022, 12 June 2022, Vorläufiges Endergebnis" . Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  32. ↑ "Germany: Far-right AfD picks top EU election candidate – DW – 07/29/2023". dw.com. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  33. ↑ Bovermann, Philipp; Frehler, Tim (6 February 2024). "Rechtsextremismus auf Tiktok: Wieso die AfD und Identitäre dort so erfolgreich sind". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  34. ↑ "Lob für Taliban und Nähe zu den Identitären – das ist AfD-Mann Krah". www.fr.de (in German). 2 August 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  35. ↑ Guggenberger, Jonathan. "Warum die AfD bei TikTok so erfolgreich ist und was daraus für Demokraten folgt". Der Freitag (in German). ISSN   0945-2095 . Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  36. ↑ FUNDSCENE (8 February 2023). "ID-Fraktion im EU-Parlament suspendiert AfD-Abgeordneten - Politics, Economy & Finance" (in German). Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  37. ↑ "Unmoralisches Angebot AfD-Spitzenmann: Krah will Hochstapler-Ex mit Geld ruhig stellen". www.t-online.de (in German). 9 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  38. ↑ "Germany arrests EU Parliament aide over bombshell China spying claims". POLITICO. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  39. ↑ Saul, Philipp (23 April 2024). "AfD - Krah-Mitarbeiter soll für China spioniert haben". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  40. 1 2 3 "Spionagevorwürfe gegen AfD-Mitarbeiter: Faeser sieht Krah in Verantwortung". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  41. 1 2 "Strack-Zimmermann fordert Rücktritt: Mitarbeiter von AfD-Politiker Krah wegen mutmaßlicher Spionage festgenommen". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). ISSN   1865-2263 . Retrieved 23 April 2024.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.