Germany's Constitutional Court decided on Tuesday to deprive a small neo-Nazi party of all public funding for six years, paving the way for possible similar proceedings against the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
The NPD party, which was renamed “Die Heimat” last year, “continues to strive to replace the existing constitutional order with an “authoritarian” national order, disregarding human dignity and the democratic principle of the Basic Law.” State, the court estimates in its ruling.
The party's “racist, especially anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic and anti-Gypsy attitude” violates Germany's constitutional principles, she explained.
Despite its insignificance on the political stage – with around 3,000 members according to official figures – the group has a nationwide network, in particular a nationalist youth organization or associations at the local level, the court emphasizes.
It organizes rallies, folk festivals and hikes to convey its racist ideology and tries to have a “strong presence” at citizen demonstrations.
“The forces that want to dismantle and destroy our democracy must not receive a cent of state funding,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser responded in a statement.
In 2019, the Bundestag, Bundesrat and federal government called for the abolition of the subsidies and benefits granted to this party.
Every party in Germany that achieves at least 0.5% in federal or European elections or 1% in state elections receives public money.
This is no longer the case for the NDP, but it continued to benefit from tax advantages, particularly with regard to gifts, gifts and inheritances.
This ruling is likely to fuel debates about the relevance of using this legal weapon to combat the rise of the AfD, the major far-right party.
Thanks to the Karlsruhe ruling, “we will learn more about the concrete obstacles to such a procedure,” remarked Social Democratic MP Johannes Fechner before the decision. “This could also affect other parties,” he added, referring to the AfD.
This party is in turmoil following recent revelations that several of its members, including a close friend of its co-leader Alice Weidel, discussed the mass expulsion of people of foreign origin during a recent gathering of ultra-identitarians.
These revelations caused an electric shock in Germany, where huge demonstrations have been taking place across the country for several days against the AfD, which is accused of posing a threat to democracy.