AfD members in Rhineland-Palatinate will not be excluded from public service roles after all, following a political and legal backlash that forced the state’s SPD-led government to retreat.
Interior Minister Michael Ebling had attempted to bar AfD members from jobs such as teaching and policing, citing “loyalty to the constitution.” The move was widely seen as a political ploy, especially after the AfD was added to the state’s list of “extremist” groups—despite being Germany’s largest opposition party.
But after constitutional experts and opposition figures, including CDU leader Gordon Schnieder, condemned the plan as undemocratic and legally shaky, Ebling quietly backed down. State broadcaster SWR confirmed that AfD members who affirm support for the constitution cannot be excluded.
With SPD support falling ahead of next year’s elections, critics say the failed crackdown was an attempt to discredit the AfD through administrative means rather than open debate—a tactic now backfiring.
