SPD leader Bärbel Bas has said she will accept the Greens’ invitation to discuss a possible ban on the right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, intensifying a debate that has already sparked concern within the centre-right Union.
Speaking on ARD’s Bericht aus Berlin, Bas said: “The Basic Law provides for this, it is also a mandate. That is why we should at least hold talks and then decide whether to take this path.”
The Greens had invited the leaders of the SPD, the Union, and the Left Party to join the discussions. But many in the Union remain sceptical. Although a federal-state working group is examining evidence for a potential case if the AfD’s classification as “confirmed right-wing extremist” is upheld in court, several senior figures oppose a ban.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) said such a move would “play into the AfD’s victim narrative,” adding that his goal was to defeat the party politically rather than through a lengthy constitutional court process.
