There is resistance in the Union against a possible AfD ban procedure. “A ban procedure would be a gift for the AfD in the elections” said Hendrik Hoppenstedt, parliamentary manager of the Union faction, to the Handelsblatt (Monday edition). The party could then spread the story of the allegedly “last free elections” and mobilize, said the CDU politician, looking at the planned federal election in February.
Constitutional lawyer Sven Hölscheidt, a professor at the Free University of Berlin, considers a possible ban procedure against the AfD to be risky. Hölscheidt was active for a long time in the Bundestag as “Head of the Department of Constitution and Administration”. He told the newspaper: “The outcome of such procedures is highly uncertain.” The procedures would likely not be completed before the next federal elections in more than four years. Even if the Federal Constitutional Court were to declare the AfD to be anti-constitutional in the end, the affected individuals could appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in the next step. Ultimately, a party ban would mean the deprivation of fundamental rights for individuals.
Hölscheidt considers the amendment to the Basic Law to protect the Federal Constitutional Court against extremists in the Bundestag to be sensible. In addition, he warned the other parties to “make good politics” and prevent the AfD from gaining a minority in the parliament after the federal election. “The more extremists are represented in the parliaments, the less it is possible to combat them with legal means” said Hölscheidt. “If they achieve a minority, it’s already threatening – if they achieve a majority, it’s the tipping point: they have the parliament and thus the legislation in their hands.