Parliamentary police in Berlin were called to investigate AfD lawmakers after they displayed a large German national flag from a Bundestag office overlooking an anti-government protest, triggering accusations of political double standards.
The incident occurred on Monday, June 8th, as demonstrators marched through the German capital calling for the resignation of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government and demanding a series of political reforms.
The protesters also called for measures including direct democracy modelled on Switzerland, the abolition of the carbon tax, a halt to the healthcare reform, the abolition of the compulsory public broadcasting licence fee, and political accountability for elected officials.
As protesters passed the Bundestag offices, several AfD MPs and staff members, including Beatrix von Storch, Stefan Keuter, and Pierre Lamely, appeared on a balcony waving to demonstrators and displaying a large German national flag.
Video footage shared on social media shows Bundestag police officers arriving shortly afterwards and informing the MPs that they had been sent to investigate whether displaying the black-red-gold flag might violate parliamentary rules.
The officers reportedly stated that there was a suspicion that the flag could breach internal regulations, although no immediate action was taken and the matter was left unresolved.
The MPs questioned why the German national flag would be considered problematic inside Germany’s parliament, particularly while the national flag continues to fly above the Reichstag building itself.
The AfD later condemned the episode on social media, describing it as evidence of political double standards. The party pointed to the presence of rainbow flags in other parliamentary offices and questioned why a German national flag would attract official scrutiny.
The incident comes amid continuing tensions between the AfD and Germany’s political establishment. The party has long argued that state institutions and mainstream parties apply different standards to its representatives than to other political groups.
Those disputes have intensified as the AfD has risen in the polls and established itself as Germany’s largest opposition party, prompting renewed debate over how traditional parties should respond to its growing electoral support.
The controversy comes at a difficult time for the Merz government. Recent polling has recorded historically low approval ratings for a federal government in its first year in power. Only 13% of voters say they are satisfied with the cabinet’s performance.
The AfD has been able to take advantage of the government’s inability to tackle the cost-of-living and migration crises. In addition, Merz has been accused of betraying his centre-right CDU’s voters by backtracking on promises to be tough on illegal migration and not to take on more debt.
