Everyone actively involved in the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is a “Nazi”, according to Lars Klingbeil, the co-leader of the left-wing German Social Democratic Party (SPD).
The senior politician made the comment on June 12 while grilling a varied assortment of meats on the roof of German news outlet Die Welt as part of an interview-cum-cooking programme.
“The AfD is not a party that simply stands a little to the Right of the [Christian Democrats],” the apron-wearing politician said, adding that the SPD had no interest in working with the group.
“The AfD wants a completely different country. The AfD wants a completely different way of living together.
“Many things that we have today in a free, cosmopolitan country would no longer be possible if the AfD were at the helm,” Klingbeil said.
He went on to double down on a previous claim he made just after his party lost out in the European Parliament elections, that everyone within the AfD was a “Nazi”, although insisted that his use of the slur was not meant to target the party’s voter base.
“Anyone who consciously gets involved there and says: ‘I want to take responsibility’ is of course a right-wing extremist, a Nazi,” he said shortly after the programme’s presenter finished adjusting the gas grill the meats were cooking on.
“I am not insulting voters, but I am insulting officials,” Klingbeil added.
He had had previously caused consternation for AfD leader Alice Weidel over the claim, with the SPD politician calling her a Nazi to her face during a televised debate shortly after the EU elections on June 9.
An East-West split has been cemented in Germany following the European Parliament elections with former territories of West Germany opting for the centre-right CDU, while East Germans supported the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD). https://t.co/yVOXlK5H6V
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) June 10, 2024
