German nationalist party rejected from intel panel

BERLIN – German lawmakers have refused to let the nationalist, anti-migration Alternative for Germany party’s candidate sit on a parliamentary committee that oversees the country’s intelligence services.

Alternative for Germany, or AfD, won seats for the first time in September’s election and is now the third-biggest party in parliament. The party nominated Roman Reusch, a former Berlin prosecutor who once caused controversy with calls for tougher punishment for criminal youths from immigrant families, for the intelligence panel.

Nominees from all other parties were elected but Reusch garnered only 210 votes in the 709-member lower house Thursday, far short of a majority.

It wasn’t the first such clash. AfD is entitled to a deputy parliament speaker, but that job remains unfilled after other lawmakers rejected its nominee in October over remarks on Islam.