The NPD – now Die Heimat – has not received any money from state party financing for a few years now. That was because of the election results. Now the highest German court has made a further ruling.
The right-wing extremist NPD will be excluded from state party funding for six years. The Federal Constitutional Court decided this on Tuesday in Karlsruhe. The National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) renamed itself Die Heimat last June. It was the first case of its kind at Germany’s highest court. The ruling is also likely to be discussed in relation to the AfD. (Ref. 2 BvB 1/19)
The judges ruled that the Die Heimat party was aimed at impairing or eliminating the free, democratic basic order.
Demonstrations nationwide
Hundreds of thousands show their flag against right-wing extremism – the images from the protest weekend
The legislature created the option to exclude funding after the second unsuccessful NPD ban procedure in 2017. The Constitutional Court rejected a ban at the time because there was no evidence that the party could achieve its anti-constitutional goals.
The legislature then created the possibility of exclusion from party financing. The Bundestag, Bundesrat and Federal Government applied to the Constitutional Court to exclude the NPD and possible replacement parties from party financing for six years. The period is specified by law. The ruling also means that the party’s tax benefits and donations will no longer apply. Unlike banning a party, cutting state funds does not presuppose that the party concerned can potentially achieve its anti-constitutional goals.
How party financing works
According to the party law, parties can receive money from the state for their work – such as election campaigns. Other sources of income include membership fees and donations. The amount of partial state funding is calculated according to a specific key, with votes playing a role, among other things. To be eligible, parties must achieve minimum shares in the most recent elections at state, federal and European levels.
Since the NPD recently failed to do this, according to Bundestag figures, it has not received any money since 2021. A year earlier it was around 370,600 euros – it received 3.02 percent of the votes in the 2016 state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. For comparison: In 2016, when the party was credited with more electoral successes, it was entitled to more than 1.1 million euros. To put it into perspective: the SPD received the highest amount at that time, almost 51 million euros.
No money for NPD: blueprint for the AfD?
There was a scandal at the oral hearing in July last year because no party representative appeared – according to the court, a one-off event. Die Heimat didn’t send anyone to the verdict either. At the time, the party declared on its website that it would not allow itself to be “made into an extra in a justice simulation.” The negotiation will “degenerate into a show trial”. Since there is no requirement to be present, the court continued the hearing.
The ruling raises the question of whether the right-wing populist AfD can be excluded from state party funding. CSU boss Markus Söder, for example, brought up the option of a funding exclusion procedure in the current debate about a possible AfD ban. Reference is made, among other things, to the Saxon Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which classifies the AfD regional association there as definitely right-wing extremist. As in the case of the NPD successor party, the Federal Constitutional Court must decide this.
Note: This article has been updated to include additional information.
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.
