German anti-immigrant candidate walks out of live TV debate

BERLIN: One of the top candidates for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in this month’s election walked out of a live television debate after being accused of failing to distance herself from right-wingers.

The right-wing AfD has gained support by slamming Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 2015 decision to open the borders to refugees and is set to enter the national parliament for the first time after the Sept 24 election.

Alice Weidel, 38, collected her papers and rushed out of public broadcaster ZDF’s studio during a debate with Germany’s six other major parties after Andreas Scheuer, a member of Merkel’s conservative bloc, said she should distance herself from far-right figures in the AfD.

ScheuersaidAlexanderGauland, the AfD’s other top candidate, was a ‘radical right-winger’.

Gauland has described Bjoern Hoecke, who in January called for a “180 degree turnaround” in the way Germany seeks to atone for Nazi crimes, as part of “the soul of the AfD”.

Weidel, who styles herself as an economic expert and critic of the euro, has gradually shifted to the right since being chosen as one of the party’s chancellor candidates in April.

The AfD wants to abolish the licence fees that finance Germany’s public broadcasters. Weidel’s statement ended with the comment that Slomka’s behaviour was “another reason to refuse to pay the licence fee”.

It did not mention the dispute with Scheuer or a preceding fiery discussion on immigration. — Reuters