After CPAC in Hungary: the next scandal

It was to be expected that things would calm down somewhat for the AfD on the international stage after Alice Weidel enjoyed such an exuberantly celebrated success at the CPAC conference. We reported on this in detail in our last newsletter #7. Markus Buchheit (MEP) was once again given the opportunity to represent the AfD on the international stage, this time at the IV Cumbre de la Iberosfera, a conference organised by the Spanish VOX and Patriots for Europe (PfE) in Madrid at the end of June (more details in our overview of past right-wing events).

But then some scandal gets in the way. This time, as with the conviction of French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen (see newsletter #5), it is again about the alleged embezzlement of European parliamentary funds by the former Identity & Democracy (ID) group. At the beginning of July, DIE ZEIT, together with the television magazine Kontraste and other European media outlets, reported exclusively on the European Parliament's audit report on the far-right group. The ID dissolved after the 2024 elections and transformed itself into the “Patriots for Europe” group.

At its core, the case concerns 4.3 million euros that were allegedly spent illegally, including by the AfD. Christine Anderson, who is also a member of the current AfD group in the EP and about whom we have reported several times, is named. Some of the payments were declared as ‘donations’, a category that does not actually exist and is believed to have been invented by the ID group. Those responsible in the European Parliament want the money back and have announced that criminal charges will be brought. The former responsible persons of the ID group deny the allegations.

Redacción: Ulli Jentsch