"This issue is not on the table now," he said, emphasizing that Chega is part of and has relations with "all of its partners" in the Identity and Democracy group in the European Parliament, to which AfD also belongs.

André Ventura, who was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with the management of the Casa de Saúde de São João de Deus, in Funchal, as part of the campaign for Sunday's regional elections, was reacting to statements by Maximiliam Krah, who considered it "wrong" to say that all members of the Schutzstaffel (SS, a paramilitary organization linked to the Nazi regime led by Adolf Hitler during World War II) were "criminals."

"I do not identify with the statements that were made, I would not say that, but Chega is part of a political family that undoubtedly wants to change Europe in the fight against corruption, in the fight for secure borders and against immigration," he said, and then reinforced: "I will not agree 100% with what everyone says, but there is no European group that does."

Regarding a possible change in Chega's group in Europe, Ventura reiterated that "this issue is not on the table now," but admitted that there could be a "rapprochement" between the Identity and Democracy group and the Conservatives.

"At this moment, Chega is in solidarity with all of its international partners," he said, adding: "This does not mean that there cannot be a rapprochement to win the European elections between Conservatives and ID, but that is a path that, first of all, does not depend only on me."

André Ventura emphasized, on the other hand, that he will continue to fight for the party to win the European elections, indicating that he has already conveyed to the Italian, German and French leaders of the forces that make up Identity and Democracy that the war in Ukraine is a "fundamental issue" for Chega.

"We are unequivocally on Ukraine's side in this war," he said, adding that the party defends the maintenance of the European project, but "with transformations," as well as the country's permanence in NATO.

"If these axes are maintained, we are open to negotiating with other groups," he said.

Meanwhile, the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party's list for the European elections announced today that he is leaving the leadership of the political force and the campaign actions after the controversial statements about the Nazi organization SS.

In a recent interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Maximiliam Krah considered it "wrong" to say that all members of the Schutzstaffel (SS, a paramilitary organization linked to the Nazi regime led by Adolf Hitler during World War II) were "criminals."

The controversy caused by these statements led Krah to announce, through his law firm, the decision to resign from the party's leadership and to refrain from participating in the electoral campaign.

"I will refrain from further appearances in the electoral campaign with immediate effect and I will resign as a member of the federal executive committee," the politician said in a text released today by the German media.

Following Krah's statements to La Repubblica, the radical right parties National Union (France), of Marine Le Pen, and the League, of Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, distanced themselves from AfD.

In the current composition of the European Parliament, AfD is part of the Identity and Democracy parliamentary group, which also includes RN and the League.

The elections for the European Parliament will take place between June 6 and 9 in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU).

Read Also: German far-right list leader withdraws from campaign (Portuguese version)