The comment was made by a man who suggested the foreign minister, Jean Asselborn, should drive in a convertible through Dallas. Thein liked this comment.

But first, let’s go back a bit: Asselborn had criticised, in an interview with the German newspaper Tagesspiegel, the non-respect of the rule of law in Poland, and said that the country would not be allowed into the EU today because it did not fulfil the Copenhagen criteria for accession.

ADR MP Fernand Kartheiser had then posted on Facebook an article by RTL on the Polish Ambassador’s official communiqué expressing his outrage. A man, apparently not an ADR member, commented: “he [Asselborn] should drive in a convertible around Dallas”, clearly alluding to the assassination of US president John F. Kennedy in 1963.

Kartheiser blocked that man from his Facebook after the post went viral and faced fierce criticisms from concerned citizens and politicians.

Thein has at first defended his “like”, saying that "it was in no way a reference to JFK’s assassination":

But then, in an interview with RTL on Thursday, Thein apologised and even voted in favour of the expulsion procedure against himself.

He may be expelled by a party disciplinary committee, which is due to render its verdict on 9 March.

ADR statement

The ADR national committee has issued a statement that:

“we also follow with concern the developments in social media where people don’t hesitate to insult and injure and slander their opponents by any means possible, and even to wish their death. We are even more concerned, as this intolerance and this hatred often hits our party as well, even though our positions are all absolutely constitutional.”

The statement continued on the subject of Thein’s Facebook like:

“There is absolutely no justification in any way to defend or like such an undemocratic, evil and dangerous comment and pretend to misunderstand such a comment.”

Felix Reding, a future ADR electoral candidate and concerned member of the party, said in a statement to Delano Thursday evening:

“Whilst it may be debatable whether this comment should be judicially prosecuted, or whether it falls under the right to freedom of speech, it can and must be clearly stated that such a comment is disgraceful and despicable on all levels.”

He added that Thein was not a central figure in the party:

“Mr Thein clearly lies in an outer faction of our party, and in all honesty he is nowhere near the be-all and end-all of the ADR. He is, at the end of the day, a communal councillor, and as such he is not one of the leading national figures of our party. Whilst I have a very sizeable respect for all that he has achieved in his commune, Péiteng, he should not be seen as the official spokesman for our party's views as a whole. I cannot help but express the wish that the press would pay as much attention to the views of our elected national representatives as they do to Mr Thein’s.”

This controversy adds to the image problems the ADR faces as it tries to portray itself as a moderately centre-right party.