The AfD is facing an important milestone: the German domestic secret service could target the party as a whole. If this happens, there is a threat of surveillance as well as weakening.
Tino Chrupalla is relaxed when looking at the two court dates this Tuesday and Wednesday in Cologne: He looks forward to it with excitement.
“We will receive a neutral assessment of our party there for the first time, but also of the work of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. We can therefore only win, »says the AfD boss, who also assumes «that the court will agree with us».
There is a lot at stake for the AfD
Even if Chrupalla sounds different, for the party it is a drastic decision. The Cologne Administrative Court must clarify whether the Office for the Protection of the Constitution – the German domestic secret service – may classify and monitor the AfD “as a suspected case or as a secured right-wing extremist effort”. Such a classification would not only mean that the secret service would in future be able to watch, recruit informants or, under strict conditions, also monitor telephone calls and emails. According to experts, it is also damaging to the image and is likely to lead to a decline in members.
Several state associations of the AfD are already being observed. The party filed a lawsuit last year against being targeted as a whole. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution had compiled its findings on the AfD in a comprehensive report. The “Spiegel” had reported on details. Accordingly, hundreds of speeches, Facebook postings and appearances by AfD politicians at all party levels were evaluated. According to the authority, the evidence of anti-constitutional efforts in the AfD is large enough to observe the entire party.
Meuthen statements confirm the suspected case
The secret service should feel encouraged by statements by long-time AfD boss Jörg Meuthen. The 60-year-old left the party in January and justified it with what he saw as the radical course taken by many AfD top officials: “Large parts of the party and with it a number of its leading representatives have opted for an increasingly radical, not just linguistically a more uninhibited course, opted for political positions and verbal gaffes that drive the party into complete isolation and ever further to the political fringes.”
“T-online” had reported that Meuthen’s statements should also play a role in the process. The news portal referred to a letter to the court from a law firm representing the protection of the constitution. It lists nine pages of quotes from interviews with Meuthen in various media about his resignation.
A court spokesman only confirmed that further statements had been delivered since last year, but did not comment on the content. Before the hearing, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution said: Please understand that due to the ongoing court proceedings and out of respect for the court, one cannot comment on the AfD.
Left-wing politicians were also under observation
Left-wing politicians also have experience of being observed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Party celebrities like Gregor Gysi or Sahra Wagenknecht and other members of the Bundestag were observed for a long time. The former party leader and current deputy faction leader Gesine Lötzsch was also targeted by the domestic secret service. It was all about “discrediting us politically,” says Lötzsch today. Such a classification would also result in citizens or organizations being deterred.
According to the government at the time, no “intelligence services” were used. Lötzsch doesn’t believe that: “That would mean you only collect newspaper clippings, which is totally ridiculous.” However, she did not become paranoid. “Even if you really had real secrets, everyone knows that all important decisions in world politics are made on walks in the woods.”
Observation of the left ceased in 2014
In 2014, the observation of members of the Bundestag from the left was stopped. The Federal Constitutional Court had ruled that this could only exist “if there are indications that the member of parliament is abusing his mandate to fight against the free democratic basic order or is actively and aggressively fighting it”. Even if it is now about the biggest political opponent, Lötzsch rejects a secret service observation of the AfD. The dispute with the party must be conducted politically.
The AfD fears that more members could leave the party if the Office for the Protection of the Constitution were to be right. At the turn of the year, the party had just over 30,000 members. In 2021 there were still 32,000, in 2020 around 34,000. Political scientist Jürgen Falter says: “Should the court reject the AfD’s lawsuit and the party as a whole be observed with constitutional protection means, this would undoubtedly lead to greater radicalization of the party, since some moderate forces, especially civil servants, would then be allowed to leave the party .»
Stronger radicalization feared
The public interest is great. Therefore, the administrative court moved the hearing to the Cologne exhibition center. Whether there will be decisions in the two days of negotiations is currently open, said the spokesman. It is also unclear whether that would be the end of the legal dispute: “Should the court not follow our arguments, we will of course examine the filing of appeals just as carefully as the court’s reasons,” says AfD boss Chrupalla.
Source: Stern
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