Far-right grouping in European Parliament expels high-flying Alternative for Germany party

BERLIN — A German far-right party hoping for big gains in upcoming European elections suffered a another setback on Thursday when it was kicked out of its group in the European Parliament.

The Identity and Democracy group said it was expelling lawmakers from the Alternative for Germany party with immediate effect because of growing controversy surrounding its lead candidate in the June 6-9 polls.

''The ID Group no longer wants to be associated with the incidents involving Maximilian Krah,'' it said in a statement released by Italy's La Lega, a member of the group.

The expulsion of the German party from its European Union umbrella group exposed deep rifts within the far right across the 27-nation bloc little more than two weeks ahead of elections in which they were supposed to surge.

It was not immediately clear whether the spat would influence voters. A swing to the right could raise questions about the bloc's future direction in issues from climate protection and immigration to support for Ukraine.

The Alternative for Germany, or AfD, said it remained ''optimistic about the election evening and the days to follow.''

''To be politically effective in Brussels, cooperation with aligned parties is essential. We are therefore confident that we will continue to have reliable partners at our side in the new legislative period,'' co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla said in a statement.

In an attempt to ward off Thursday's split, the AfD on Wednesday banned Krah from making campaign appearances after he told an Italian newspaper that not all members of the Nazis' elite SS unit, which was involved in major war crimes during World War II, were war criminals.

The party said his missteps had led to ''massive damage'' and that he would resign from its board. However, he remains a candidate for the European election.

Krah, 47, had already been under scrutiny after authorities in Brussels searched his offices at the European Parliament in connection with one of his assistants who was arrested last month on suspicion of spying for China.

German media have alleged that Krah has had personal ties to China and also Russia.

AfD had been riding high in opinion polls in Germany last year and also hopes to make big gains in state election in the east of the country in the fall. However, it has become less popular this year after millions of Germans protested against its radical far-right stance and as the negative headlines have mounted.

According to German media reports, the AfD relations with some of its allies in the Identity and Democracy group have been strained for months, particularly with France's National Rally and its leader Marine Le Pen.