A Berlin civil court ruled on Friday, September 26th that the national sovereigntist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party will have to vacate its national headquarters in Berlin next year, after a dispute with the building’s owner.
The Austrian owner of the premises had complained that the AfD breached conditions of its rental contract during a national election night party in February when it celebrated a record result.
Friday’s ruling came after conciliation proceedings between the landlord, Lukas Hufnagl, and representatives of the AfD regarding the use of the property failed last week.
The landlord had applied for an immediate eviction, which was rejected because he had not issued the party with a formal warning.
Hufnagl had complained to the authorities after the AfD had projected its election score of 20.8% and its party logo onto an outside wall of the building on the election night.
Tight police protection at the time also blocked other tenants from entering the building in Berlin’s Reinickendorf district, Hufnagl said.
The owner then gave notice to the AfD, but the party refused to vacate the premises.
The AfD had behaved as if it owned the property, Hufnagl charged in a Politico podcast interview.
The anti-immigration party on Friday welcomed the fact that it would not have to vacate the building immediately and slammed the proceedings as “political.”“The court confirmed our legal opinion: the termination without notice was legally unfounded and was rightly dismissed today,” said AfD spokesman Kay Gottschalk.
