Calls to bar the Alternative for Germany (AfD) from the country’s political life are back in the spotlight, although there is strong opposition.
The debate resumed after the 6 September election in Saxony-Anhalt, in which AfD won 43.8% of the vote and emerged as the state’s strongest political force.
The proposal to examine whether it should be banned has divided the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), but has the backing of Social Democratic leaders.
Initiatives and divisions
A case in point is a proposal by Hendrik Wüst, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia and a prominent CDU figure, to set up a joint committee of the federal and state governments to examine the legal options for banning AfD.
Wüst belongs to the same party as Chancellor Friedrich Merz, although the two take different positions on whether a ban is advisable. The Christian Democrat’s proposal was backed by Andreas Bovenschulte, Bremen’s mayor and Senate president and a prominent member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), as well as other state leaders.
On 16 October, Bovenschulte called for a working group to examine the available evidence and determine whether there were grounds to seek a ban on the party.
The chancellor himself has publicly voiced reservations about the strategy of banning the party. “I remain sceptical about the chances of a ban proceeding succeeding,” Merz said in September. The Christian Democrat leader believes the constitutional bar is very high and that outlawing AfD would not resolve the concerns of its voters.
His proposal is to win back those voters through policies that take account of concerns and reservations about the policies of German governments.
Reactions and foreign policy
The division also extends to the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU), the CDU’s traditional ally. Its leader, Markus Söder, warned of the constitutional hurdles to a ban and the risk of turning AfD into a martyr organisation.
“In a democracy, you have to work through democratic means,” the Bavarian leader said. He believes it would be better to prepare more effectively for the next elections and find arguments capable of persuading voters.
One of the leading advocates of efforts to ban AfD is Georg Maier, Thuringia’s interior minister and an SPD member. Maier introduced an argument relating to foreign policy and AfD’s alleged links to Russia.
Speaking to the business daily Handelsblatt on 6 October, he said that party leaders’ support for Moscow could play a decisive role in a possible constitutional ban.
The debate also reached the state parliament of Thuringia, which held a public hearing with nine experts in early October to examine a possible ban.
Among those present was Hans-Georg Maaßen, former head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, who was critical of the arguments being used to advance the process. The discussion nevertheless highlighted the difficulties facing an initiative that would have to clear significant legal hurdles and could take years.
State-level initiatives were joined by a preliminary agreement presented on 17 October by the SPD, the Greens and Die Linke (The Left) to negotiate the formation of a government in Berlin.
The document provides for advancing proceedings against AfD and seeking support from other state governments.
It is difficult to predict what will happen in the future. But one thing is certain: the stronger AfD becomes in opinion polls, the louder the calls for a ban will grow. Paradoxical in a democracy, but that is how it is.