German lawmakers debated the possibility of banning the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party during a heated session on Thursday, amid growing concerns over the party's anti-democratic activities.
Social Democrat lawmaker Johannes Fechner warned that right-wing extremists pose a serious threat to democracy and voiced his support for a motion to initiate proceedings to ban the AfD, News.az reports citing foreign media.“The AfD is an anti-constitutional party—the SPD parliamentary group has absolutely no doubt about this,” he said, citing numerous controversial actions, xenophobic and racist statements made by AfD politicians in recent years.
“They promote criminals within their ranks to important parliamentary positions. They advocate an ethno-nationalist ideology. They seek to expel millions of citizens from our country,” he said, referring to AfD's plans to “remigrate” migrants, including those with German citizenship.
Fechner acknowledged the legal complexities involved, noting that the Federal Constitutional Court's requirements for a ban are stringent, and the process must be carefully examined to ensure success.
He expressed gratitude to the motion sponsors for not calling for an immediate decision on Thursday.
“I am grateful to the applicants that there is no vote today, because there would probably have been no majority,” he said, adding that if the motion failed to get sufficient support, it could send the wrong signal just weeks before the parliamentary elections on Feb. 23.
During the debate, several lawmakers from the main opposition Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and the liberal FDP party expressed doubts about initiating proceedings to ban the AfD for political and legal reasons.
CDU lawmaker Philipp Amthor said his parliamentary group fundamentally opposes party bans, preferring instead to counter extremist ideologies through political means.
“We believe in the power of democracy to solve problems, and we do not see the party ban as the right instrument either,” he said.
Amthor also argued that it was difficult to meet the high legal hurdles set by the Federal Constitutional Court to ban a party, warning that a failed ban attempt could ultimately strengthen the AfD.
Two motions to initiate proceedings for banning the AfD – one with signatures from lawmakers across multiple parties and another from the Greens – were forwarded to the relevant parliamentary committees for review.
