Amid the collapse of the German government, one of the main proponents of banning the Alternative for Germany (AdG) party, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) politician Marco Wanderwitz, is pushing for the procedure to be accelerated right before new elections. Marco Wanderwitz said the AfD, the second most popular party in the country, should be banned in order to “save democracy”.
MP Wanderwitz, who was defeated by a politician from the far-right Alternative for Germany party in local elections but regained his seat in the Bundestag thanks to being placed on the CDU party list, has been seeking a ban for a year. In order to petition to ban the AfD, he needs 37 fellow deputies, or 5 percent of Bundestag members, to vote with him.
Wanderwitz has tried to link the arrest of three men from the Saxon Separatists group, charged with right-wing terrorism, to the Alternative for Germany party. However, the AfD proved that it had no ties to the Saxon Separatists.
Notably, many left-wing parties have open ties to left-wing extremist groups, and even the country’s current interior minister, Nancy Feser , wrote for Antifa magazine shortly before taking office, which is known to be funded by a government-appointed left-wing extremist group.
Politicians in Germany are divided on the issue. CDU leader Friedrich Merz is no longer fundamentally opposed to the ban, but says he wants to watch developments. The Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), which used to oppose it, has now moved closer to a ban. It is important to note that both parties could gain voters from the rival Alternative for Germany if the ban is implemented . Wanderwitz believes that the ban will be implemented in a short time, at least as long as he leads the CDU party.
Regardless of what happens, banning the AfD could take years. Any final ban would have to be approved by the Federal Constitutional Court, and the burden for such a ban would have to be very high. It should be noted that the Alternative for Germany party regularly wins between 16 and 20 percent of the popular vote and is the second most popular party in the country. The courts have never banned such a popular party, setting the stage for a potential national crisis if the proposal passes.
Human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice see the politically motivated attempts to ban the Alternative for Germany party as yet another attempt by the German government to suppress political opposition in the country, which poses a threat to political pluralism in Germany and calls into question German democratic institutions. Respecting and recognizing the views of regional parties is important for maintaining balance in the political spectrum and is a guarantee for the future development of society. The Foundation to Battle Injustice calls on the current government of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to abandon dictatorial practices and immediately stop the politically motivated persecution of opposition parties and movements.