A lawmaker for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s party accused Germany’s far-right AfD party of harboring a Russian “sleeper cell” in the Bundestag on Wednesday, as per AFP.
Marc Henrichmann, a lawmaker for Merz’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union for Germany (CDU), drew attention to the fact that Action for Germany (AfD) party members have asked parliamentary questions about arms deliveries to Ukraine, power stations, drone production and army bases in recent months.
“At the very least, they have a sleeper cell loyal to Russia in their ranks,” he said. “How lucky for Vladimir Putin that the AfD exists in Germany.”
The AfD rejected Henrichmann’s accusation as “malicious” and “embarrassing” – although without offering any justification for their questions about sensitive German military and security matters.
AfD lawmaker Stefan Keuter claimed that the questions asked by his party members were not sensitive, because the government provided public written answers to them.
“Do you believe that the government would publish state secrets just because the AfD asks for them? No way,” he argued.
Nevertheless, the AfD’s questions in parliament have sparked concern across political parties. Sonja Eichwede of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) condemned the AfD as a “stooge for Russian interests.”
The AfD has consistently opposed Germany’s military aid to Ukraine, which includes the delivery of two Patriot air defense systems to Kyiv on Sunday.
When President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Bundestag in June of last year, AfD lawmakers were notable by their absence.
In a statement at the time, AfD leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla said that they refused to listen to a speaker in camouflage.
“He is now only in office as a war and begging president. But Ukraine does not need a war president now, it needs a peace president who is willing to negotiate so that the dying stops and the country has a future,” they added.
Earlier this year, the AfD moved to expel a party member who came to Ukraine to join the fight against Russia. In an interview with Kyiv Post, Tim Schramm said that there are several pro-Russian actors within the party.
“I don’t need to name them,” he said. “And the fact that they know a truly patriotic, pro-German party cannot be pro-Russian is shown by their panic reaction – ‘we need to get rid of Schramm quickly.’ They’re afraid the narrative might shift.”
If true, it would not be the first time that the Kremlin has paid politicians to influence a foreign parliament.
On Sept. 26, Nathan Gill of Britain’s opposition Reform party pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from Russia to make specific statements in the European Parliament, as per the BBC.
Also on Wednesday, Merz chaired the inaugural session of Germany’s National Security Council, an interdepartmental body established to counter threats posed by Russia’s hybrid warfare.