Last night, protesters outside the Federal Chancellery in the German capital, Berlin, called for the AfD ban to be examined. According to police, the number of participants was in the “low three digits” range. Organizers said they were calling on the federal government, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat to look into banning the AfD.
IMAGO/EPD
Climate activist Luisa Neubauer was also at the demonstration. The banners said, among other things, “Democracy in Danger” and “Never Again”. The trigger for the meeting was the announcement of a meeting of the right-wing scene in Potsdam and the report on radical theses on migration policy. Media company Correctiv first reported this.
So far, the AfD has been classified as right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in three East German states. For it to be banned, it must be proven that it is acting in an aggressive and combative manner against the basic democratic order, that is, that it is fighting for its overthrow. The federal government, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat can submit a request for a ban. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe would decide on this.
Steinmeier skeptical
German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is skeptical of a proposal to ban the AfD. “I cannot assess the chances of success – a procedure would probably take a long time,” Steinmeier told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” in an interview.
He advised a political debate with the AfD. “We should give the best answers, we should organize democratic majorities and strengthen them.” In German history, extremists have always brought misfortune to the country.