Germany’s Populist Right Faces a Damaging Scandal

What’s happening: An aide for Maximilian Krah — the top E.U. election candidate for populist-right party, German Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) — was arrested on allegations of spying for China. Another AfD candidate is suspected of taking money from Kremlin-backed individuals.

Serious accusations: Krah, who has a history of pro-China statements, was questioned by the FBI regarding connections to Russia. While the number two candidate, Petr Bystron, has not been formally charged, Czech intelligence claimed they have him on tape taking Russian money. But these politicians’ histories didn’t preclude their attainment of top candidate spots in the AfD.

Why it matters: While the AfD is doing well in polls, scandals could be damaging. The fact that dubious candidates were chosen could cause voters to question the party’s decision-making. Lack of vetting and self-management within the AfD could effectively keep establishment politicians in power — a growing problem for anti-establishment parties across the West.

• Party lists: European elections use “party lists.” Voters select parties instead of people; the more votes the party earns, the more party candidates are elected.

New to the spotlight: Non-mainstream parties encounter these problems because they don’t have experience being taken seriously. When voters become discontented with mainstream parties, populist/third parties are unprepared for the sudden attention and fail to take advantage with electable candidates.

America too: The Libertarian Party missed its chance in 2016. The party’s convention was an embarrassment — one candidate performed a strip-tease, and party nominee Gary Johnson was stumped at a journalist’s question about Syria.