Efforts to ban Alternative for Germany Party face hurdles as political landscape evolves

By lauraharris // 2024-12-26

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The motion to ban the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is unlikely to move forward due to lack of support from key political parties, including the CDU and SPD.
While the initial proposal for the AfD ban had support from some MPs across parties, including the Greens and SPD, prominent political leaders have distanced themselves from the idea, citing concerns about protecting democracy.
Political parties involved in the ban initiative have become increasingly vocal about their intent to protect democracy, but there are significant concerns about the ban process taking years and potentially benefit the AfD in upcoming elections.
The Greens, who have been leading calls for the AfD ban, are now exploring alternative procedures they believe may have a better chance of success, such as a two-stage process requiring sufficient evidence to establish a certain prospect of success.
Constitutional law expert Christoph Möllers proposed a solution involving a framework to set up a commission to form an opinion on the AfD ban, keeping the party out of the process while ensuring that it is legally possible.

A motion to ban the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is unlikely to move forward due to lack of support from the majority. In November, the proposed ban, originally proposed by Christian Democratic Union (CDU) MP Marco Wanderwitz, seemed likely to move forward with 105 MPs from across parties showing support. This backing included Claudia Roth and Katrin Göring Eckardt from the Greens and Ralf Stegner and Helge Lindh from the Social Democratic Party (SPD). However, the motion now faces significant opposition from key political players. Carmen Wegge, an SPD c0-signer of the motion, claimed that the "AfD represents the greatest threat to our democracy," despite the party actually proposing measures for direct democracy in the country, which would enable nationwide referendums - a form of democracy that is arguably more pure than the current democratic system in Germany. (Related: Germany to hold confidence vote in January following the dismissal of Christian Lindner as finance minister.) Political parties involved in the motion have echoed similar statements and grown increasingly vocal about their intent to protect democracy. Even CDU and SPD leaders, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Friedrich Merz, respectively, are now distancing themselves from the idea. The motion can only proceed if a majority supports it, but both the CDU and SPD have opposed it. There are significant concerns that a ban process could take years and with elections scheduled for February, it might benefit the AfD. Additionally, the SPD and CDU do not anticipate success with the Constitutional Court, which has the final decision on any ban procedure.

Greens are exploring alternative procedures for AfD ban

The Greens, which have been at the forefront of calls to ban the AfD, are now exploring alternative procedures that they believe may have a better chance of success. Among the skeptics is Green MP Renate Künast, who is drafting her motion to ban the AfD party. In November, Künast invited constitutional law expert Christoph Möllers to discuss the feasibility of an AfD ban in a video conference attended by Green MPs, as well as MPs from the SPD and Free Democratic Party (FDP). The discussion centered on Künast's motion, which differs from the Wanderwitz motion in that it proposes a two-stage process. This process requires providing sufficient evidence to establish a certain prospect of success before a main trial can proceed. "If you don't do that, the motion will be rejected in the preliminary examination, and that's exactly the big risk in proceedings without a corresponding preliminary examination," Green politician Lukas Benner explained during the conference. This could result in the AfD receiving a letter from the Federal Constitutional Court declaring them to be constitutional or stating that there is not enough evidence for a main trial on unconstitutionality, thus posing a significant risk to those pushing for the ban. Visit BigGovernment.news for similar stories. Watch this video exposing the suppression of X of AfD supporters. This video is from the Henrik Wallin - All knowledge channel on Brighteon.com.

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Greens are exploring alternative procedures for AfD ban

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