Far-right MEP who gloated over David Sassoli’s death named party leader in EU Parliament

MEPs from the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) have chosen their new party leader in the European Parliament: Nicolaus Fest, who caused outrage last month when he shared insults and delight over the death of David Sassoli.

Parliament President Sassoli died on January 11 at the age of 65, prompting an outpouring of sympathy from MEPs and European leaders. But according to leaked text messages obtained by German broadcaster ARD, Fest wrote in a group chat: “Finally, that filthy pig is gone,” and wrote that Sassoli was “an anti-democrat, a disgrace to any parliamentary idea.”

However, AfD MEPs elected him as the leader of their nine-person delegation on Tuesday, with Gunnar Beck becoming the new deputy chairman.

Fest takes over from Jörg Meuthen, who recently resigned and left the AfD but remains an MEP.