Seven Alternative für Deutschland politicians died within two weeks of each other before local elections, prompting party leaders to hint at foul play.
Five direct AfD candidates and two reserve candidates in North Rhine-Westphalia died within 14 days of each other, according to Welt.
Wolfgang Seitz’s death at 59 was announced on Aug. 21; the city of Blomberg announced the “unfortunate death” of 66-year-old Ralph Lange on Aug. 27; the city of Bad Lippspringe said 59-year-old Stefan Berendes “died unexpectedly” on Aug. 28; and the city of Schwerte announced that Wolfgang Klinger, 71, died “unexpectedly” on Aug. 19, according to Newsweek. Kay Gottschalk, deputy state chairman of the AfD’s North Rhine-Westphalia branch, confirmed the deaths of direct candidate Hans-Joachim Kind, 80, and reserve candidates René Herford and Patrick Tietze to Politico on Tuesday.
In a Tuesday interview with WELT TV, Gottschalk pushed back on speculation that foul play was afoot.
“We will, of course, investigate these cases with the necessary sensitivity and care,” he said, adding that there was “no indication” that the deaths were the result of “murder or anything similar.”
Gottschalk stressed that some of the dead “have pre-existing medical conditions.” He called for a careful investigation “without immediately getting into conspiracy theory territory.”
Police told DPA news agency that the first six deaths were either from natural causes or the cause wasn’t being divulged to preserve family privacy.
Despite his distancing from speculation of any possible nefarious demise, several AfD leaders openly called foul play.
AfD co-chairwoman Alice Weidel reposted a post from retired economist Stefan Homburg, who said the deaths were “statistically almost impossible.”
X owner Elon Musk also boosted his comments.
The deaths prompted affected cities to invalidate early votes and scramble to reprint ballots before the Sept. 14 elections.
The deaths come as the AfD sees a surge in the polls, with North Rhine-Westphalia representing one of its fastest-growing areas in western Germany. The 18-million-person state has seen the AfD grow from a measly 5.4% in May 2022 polls, the time of the last state elections, to a hefty 16.8% in the February elections, the BBC reported.
Shortly after the February elections, which gave the AfD its best results yet, the AfD began polling as the most popular party in Germany. It came second in the February federal elections with 20.8% of the vote, taking 152 seats in the 630-seat Bundestag.
Its growing popularity comes as every mainstream party rules out joining it in a government coalition. Every party to the left of the AfD has decried it as an extremist group and a threat to democracy.
AFD BECOMES MOST POPULAR PARTY IN GERMANY FOR FIRST TIME
The exact label of the AfD Party is itself a source of controversy. Left-wing critics openly accuse it of being a neo-Nazi group. The party has consistently rejected the “far-right” label, with its leaders saying the party stands for “the liberal democratic order and has nothing to do with this suspected neo-Nazi grouping.”
Other analysts take a more nuanced view, painting the party as a coalition of broadly right-wing ideological factions. Musk has characterized AfD policies as “identical to those of the US Democratic Party when Obama took office.”