German Greens Demand AfD Ban Amid Rising Right-Wing Violence
Berlin, Germany – The German Greens are renewing their call for a ban on the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, citing the alarming rise in right-wing extremist violence and the AfD’s alleged complicity in the escalation.
Marcel Emmerich, the Greens’ parliamentary group’s spokesperson on internal affairs, told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland that the AfD is not a fringe element, but a direct result of a societal climate that normalizes hate and fuels extremism. “Youth setting fire to refugee homes and committing arson attacks is not an accident; it’s right-wing terrorism” Emmerich said.
The Greens point to over 42,000 right-wing crimes in the past year, which they say are not isolated incidents, but a manifestation of a deep-seated escalation that has been building in German society. The AfD, they claim, is pouring fuel on the fire by providing a platform for extreme right-wing ideologies and fostering connections with parliamentary right-wing extremists.
Emmerich urged lawmakers to take action, saying, “Who does not do everything to uncover networks, disarm extremists and investigate connections to parliamentary right-wing extremists bears a share of the responsibility.” He emphasized that a ban on the AfD is not a taboo, but a matter of democratic self-defense.
The Greens’ call for a ban on the AfD comes as a response to the federal prosecutor’s charges against the suspected neo-Nazi group “Letzte Verteidigungswelle” which the party is accused of supporting. The Greens believe that the AfD’s continued presence in the German parliament poses a threat to democracy and that a ban is necessary to protect the country’s democratic institutions.