The economy is in crisis and the constant influx of migrants is threatening to destabilise society—yet the German mainstream parties’ main concern is their right-wing opposition Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).
According to media reports, the left-wing Greens are intent on pushing through a motion in parliament to ban the AfD “as soon as possible”, and it seems that they have the support of all the other parties.
The idea of getting rid of the ruling elites’ most significant political opponent has been discussed for many years, and as the AfD gets stronger and stronger—it is the second largest formation in the parliament following February’s elections—they want to put a stop to its rise before the next elections in 2029.
The establishment parties have been using all kinds of undemocratic methods—backed by state institutions—to undermine AfD’s credibility: they are legally spying on the party, withholding state funds, and publishing false media reports.
The Greens are hoping that the new government, likely to be formed by the centre-right CDU/CSU alliance and the Social Democrats (SPD), will quickly appoint the new head of the domestic intelligence agency, the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV) so that it can designate the AfD as a “confirmed extremist” organisation.
This would be one step up from its current categorisation as a “suspected extremist organisation,” and it would allow the parliament to ask the constitutional court to rule on whether the party is unconstitutional.
Last year, a total of 113 MPs from the CDU/CSU, the SPD, the Greens, and the far-left Die Linke called for the parliament to discuss a motion to ban the AfD, claiming that the party “opposes central basic principles of the free democratic basic order.”
This year, the same parties are advocating the move. SPD’s parliamentary group leader Katja Mast said “the AfD poses a serious threat to democracy.” Sources from the CDU/CSU have indicated that they could agree to a ban procedure if the AfD is classified as “confirmed right-wing extremist.”
However, constitutional law experts believe the AfD does not meet the conditions required for a ban, because it does not fight the free democratic basic order “aggressively and combatively.”
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel has previously criticised attempts to ban her party, saying that these “reflect the undemocratic spirit of the competing parties.”
