Ukip cosies up to far-right German party the AfD inviting them to speak at annual conference
A senior figure from the AfD will speak at Ukip's conference in Devon on Friday
ONE OF the leaders of the German far-right party is set to speak at Ukip’s annual conference this week, it emerged today.
A “senior member” of the AfD - which has just made it to Germany’s parliament for the first time - will address delegates from the stage on Friday.
The announcement is set to cement the increasingly close ties between Ukip and the far-right grouping.
After it emerged last night that the AfD had won nearly 100 seats in the German election, Ukip’s acting leader sent congratulations to the party.
Steve Crowther said: “Like Ukip, the AfD offers a balancing force within its national politics which has been skewed towards the centre-left consensus.
“This is a brave move in Germany, whose politics has been overshadowed by the Nazi era. It shows that the people are no longer prepared to be ignored and coerced by the liberal left.
“Once again, the elites are learning that democracy actually means listening to the majority, no matter how much they despise their vulgar attitudes.”
Today the party announced the agenda for its annual conference, being held in Torquay, Devon later this week.
A spokesman said that “a senior member of the AfD” would be speaking on Friday afternoon, in the first British speech by a party official after the German election.
The spokesman added that the event would be “a must-see moment for all students of European politics”.
Nigel Farage campaigned with AfD ahead of the election, sparking outrage and claims he was helping right-wing extremism.
The party’s success in yesterday’s election marks the first time the far right will be represented in Germany’s parliament for more than half a century.
But the AfD was instantly plunged into chaos when its best-known figure announced hours later that she would sit as an independent MP and quit the party.
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Co-leader Frauke Petry said she was worried the party was turning into a bigoted group whose only policy is being hostile to immigration.
Ukip is also in disarray after leader Paul Nuttall quit just a few months after he was elected.
Mr Farage is reportedly set to quit the party if far-right candidate Anne Marie Waters, whose main policy is to crack down on Islam, becomes leader.