In a recent development, the leader of the SPD’s parliamentary group, Matthias Miersch, has announced that the party will accelerate preparations for a potential ban of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and will not wait for further court decisions on the party’s classification. Miersch told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that the question of a ban is already being discussed in his faction, which has made significant progress in its deliberations. He expressed a personal desire to see the SPD and the Union in the German parliament work together on the issue once the faction has reached a consensus.
In a contrasting view, the German Interior Minister, Alexander Dobrindt, has warned against attempting to ban the AfD. Speaking to the Funke-Mediengruppe, Dobrindt cautioned that trying to use the law to combat the AfD would be a futile effort and that it would only serve to galvanize the party’s supporters. He emphasized that the government should not give the impression of trying to “legally eliminate a political competitor” and that he would not grant the AfD the role of victim.
Dobrindt also stated that he would wait for the outcome of the AfD’s lawsuit against its classification as a right-wing extremist party, expressing personal confidence in the party’s right-wing extremist nature. The minister emphasized that the fight against the AfD should be political and that the party should be countered by offering a more moderate alternative, rather than attempting to ban it.