Despite AfD protests: Bundestag passes new foundation law

For the first time, the Bundestag has placed state funding of party-affiliated foundations on a legal basis. The law passed on Friday stipulates that a foundation will only be funded if the party to which it is affiliated is represented in parliamentary group size in the Bundestag at least three times in a row. The respective party must not be excluded from state party financing. And the foundation must guarantee that it will actively promote the free, democratic basic order and the idea of ​​international understanding.

All parties represented in the Bundestag have foundations that are close to them. They carry out political education work at home and abroad, are active in the area of ​​political research and advice and award scholarships for highly talented students.

Only the AfD voted against the foundation law in the Bundestag

The law was supported by the SPD, the Greens, the FDP, the Union and the Left. The AfD protested vehemently against this because it sees itself at a disadvantage. She is only sitting in the Bundestag in the second electoral term. The Desiderius Erasmus Foundation, which is close to the AfD, is currently not entitled to any funding. In addition, the required commitment to the free democratic basic order is likely to become an obstacle in the future because two AfD state associations – Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt – are now classified as definitely right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The AfD as a whole is considered a suspected right-wing extremist case.

“The most important regulation is very clear: No money for enemies of the constitution,” said SPD MP Johannes Fechner. Konstantin von Notz (Green Party) emphasized that the following applies to all foundations: “Anyone who specifically gathers extremists behind them and becomes their mouthpiece must not be funded by the state.” On behalf of the Left, Clara Bünger accused the AfD of: “If the AfD has a problem with this law, then that only means that as a party they have a problem with democracy and our democratic values ​​as a whole.”

Stephan Thomae from the FDP pointed out that the foundations have great freedom in how they use the funds. “But one thing is clear: that they must not and never use these means against this democracy.” CDU MP Ansgar Heveling also emphasized: “This law is not directed against any party at all, but rather it explicitly requires commitment to the free-democratic basic order – from all parties that want to receive funding for their political foundations. “

In contrast, AfD MP Albrecht Glaser rated the law as unconstitutional and spoke of an “AfD prevention law”. He accused the other parties of: “They are delegitimizing this state through self-service by the political class.” Erika Steinbach, the chairwoman of the Desiderius Erasmus Foundation, spoke of a “targeted exclusion of an important opposition force.” The Bundestag had “quite openly made clear an oppressive contempt for democracy that would be an honor to any authoritarian country.”

The legal regulation became necessary because the Federal Constitutional Court rejected the previous funding practice last February following an AfD lawsuit. The judges ruled that the allocation of global subsidies in the federal budget does not meet the constitutional requirements. The AfD now also wants to take action against the law in Karlsruhe.