The Federal Constitutional Court ensures that the Basic Law is adhered to. Because of the rise of extreme parties, the court should now be better protected.
The Union has responded favorably to the Traffic Light Coalition’s considerations to better protect the Federal Constitutional Court from possible influence in response to the rise of extreme parties. “We share the concern about party political influence on the judiciary and in particular the Federal Constitutional Court. This important issue should be discussed on a broad basis,” said the deputy leader of the Union parliamentary group, Andrea Lindholz (CSU), to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
The parliamentary managing director of the SPD parliamentary group, Johannes Fechner, told “Welt am Sonntag” that a change to the law on the Federal Constitutional Court should in future require a two-thirds majority instead of a simple majority. Fechner referred, among other things, to Poland, where they had seen how quickly a constitutional court could be paralyzed.
The parliamentary secretary of the FDP, Stephan Thomae, said that parliamentarism and the constitutional judiciary must be made more resistant to “enemies of democracy”. To this end, essential structures of the court should be anchored in the Basic Law. A two-thirds majority would be necessary for a change to the Basic Law – the government factions would therefore need the consent of the CDU/CSU.
Green Party deputy Konstantin von Notz therefore approached the Union. “It is necessary and right to discuss quickly and decide how we can better protect the Federal Constitutional Court, which is extremely important for our democracy. It is important to fully include the CDU and CSU in the deliberations from the start,” said von Notz Editorial network Germany (RND/Tuesday). The Union, as the largest opposition faction in the federal government and with its responsibility in numerous federal states, is “a very decisive political force for the success of this process.”
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser warned: “Authoritarian forces want to destroy democracy and the rule of law from within by attacking the independent judiciary and democratic institutions.” This is also known from the recent past in neighboring European countries, the SPD politician told the Funke newspapers. “The fact that this is now being debated in the Bundestag, in academia and in public shows that many have recognized the dangers to our democracy.”
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.
