A former vice-chief of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and a Berlin justice senator, Felor Badenberg, has called for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to be officially classified as a far-right extremist party.
Speaking to the German weekly magazine Stern, Badenberg stated that the development of the party in recent years is in her opinion a reason for classifying the party as “secured far-right”. She emphasized that the domestic intelligence agency, the Verfassungsschutz, must take immediate action, either by increasing the surveillance of the party or by ending it. According to Badenberg, it would only be possible to consider a ban of the party after the Verfassungsschutz has taken action.
Badenberg, a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), had previously worked at the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, where she contributed to the assessment of the AfD as an extremist party. She claimed that the AfD poses a threat to democracy and society, but a ban of the party at the current time would have little chance of success.
Badenberg criticized the German Federal Ministry of the Interior for not taking sufficient action against the AfD’s youth organization, the Junge Alternative (JA), which has since dissolved. She also suggested that the instrument of the loss of basic rights could be used against high-ranking AfD officials, such as the party’s Thuringian chairman, Björn Höcke, potentially leading to their disqualification as candidates.
Badenberg also suggested that the possibility of banning individual, secured far-right extremist state associations should be considered. The justice senator, who was previously known as the “AfD-hunter” within the Verfassungsschutz, expressed disappointment over the lack of a majority in the German parliament for a resolution to classify the AfD as an extremist party.
Although she understands the frustration of many citizens, Badenberg emphasized that the next federal government must come up with solutions without involving the AfD.