The hurdles for a party to be banned are very high in Germany. The German Human Rights Institute is nevertheless of the opinion that nothing would stand in the way of a ban on the AfD.
The German Institute for Human Rights (DIMR) now sees the conditions for a ban on the AfD as having been met. In a current analysis by the institute, which has the legal mandate to prevent human rights violations, it says that the party is actively and methodically proceeding “to achieve its racist and right-wing extremist goals”.
For example, the AfD is working on “shifting the limits of what can be said and thus the discourse in such a way that people get used to their racist national-völkisch positions – also in public and political space”.
Overall, the party is trying to eliminate the guarantees enshrined in Article 1 of the Basic Law. There it says: “Human dignity is inviolable. It is the duty of all state power to respect and protect it.”
AfD: Procedure would have no chance
The AfD rejected the arguments of the Human Rights Institute. A party spokesman said on Wednesday: “We have no doubt that proceedings against the AfD before the Federal Constitutional Court would have no chance.” The reason for the advance of the DIMR is obviously the values for the AfD in voter surveys, which have been increasing for weeks. This saw the party last at around 18 percent and thus on par with the SPD.
In the institute’s analysis, which is entitled “Why the AfD could be banned, recommendations to the state and politics”, it says: “It is of elementary importance for the defense of the indispensable foundations of human rights and thus the free democratic basic order that awareness of the danger posed by the AfD is increasing, both in society as a whole and on the part of the state, and state and political actors are acting accordingly.” This danger can only be countered effectively “if the other parties at federal, state and local level clearly distance themselves from the AfD”.
Influence of Höcke on the course of the AfD
One factor that proves the danger posed by the AfD from the perspective of the DIMR is the growing influence of the Thuringian state and parliamentary group leader of the AfD, Björn Höcke, on the course of the party in recent years. In its analysis, the institute states that Höcke is a leading voice in the AfD with numerous supporters who followed him nationwide, even without a post at federal level.
The DIMR is Germany’s independent national human rights institution. The institute is financed from the budget of the Bundestag. In addition to a possible party ban, it also puts other consequences up for discussion in its analysis, such as the application of weapons law to AfD members or disciplinary law when it comes to civil servants, soldiers or judges who support the AfD.
DMIR wants to fill “void” in debate
The author of the analysis, Hendrik Cremer, stressed that the institute was not in favor of an application for a party ban. Rather, the DIMR is concerned with filling a “void” in the social and legal debate. “We recommend those entitled to apply to prepare material on an ongoing basis in order to be able to act,” he added.
According to the Basic Law, parties “which, based on their goals or the behavior of their supporters, aim to impair or eliminate the free democratic basic order or to endanger the existence of the Federal Republic of Germany” are unconstitutional. In addition, there must be an actively militant, aggressive attitude towards the free democratic basic order, which the party aims to abolish, as well as concrete indications that achieving the anti-constitutional goals does not appear completely hopeless.
In the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, two parties have been banned so far: the Nazi-oriented Socialist Reich Party (SRP) in 1952 and the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) in 1956.
The first of two unsuccessful banning proceedings against the right-wing extremist NPD was discontinued in 2003 because of the numerous informants that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution also had in the party’s leadership. A second application was rejected by the Federal Constitutional Court in 2017 because the importance of the party was considered too small.
Thuringia’s Minister of the Interior for Prohibition Procedures
Thuringia’s Interior Minister Georg Maier spoke out in favor of a ban on the AfD last December. He told the “taz” at the time: “I believe that the banning process should be prepared now.” In Thuringia, the party is being monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution because of certain extremist efforts.
In March 2021, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified the entire party as a suspected right-wing extremist – an assessment that was confirmed by the Cologne Administrative Court in the first instance around a year later. The AfD, on the other hand, is defending itself legally. The proceedings at the Higher Administrative Court in Münster are still ongoing.
In the case of a suspected case, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution usually checks after about two years whether the suspicion has been confirmed or not. In the case of the AfD, however, it is not to be expected that this decision will be made before the conclusion of the court proceedings. The President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, sees the party constantly on the way “to the far right”. The classification as a suspected case already enables his authority to use intelligence resources. This includes, among other things, the observation and obtaining information about informants from the respective scene.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
