German politicians from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) have called for a serious examination of the possibility of a ban on the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Serpil Midyatli, the deputy federal chair of the SPD, emphasized the importance of initiating a ban procedure and submitting a preliminary application to the Constitutional Court, should all the necessary conditions be met. Midyatli cited the AfD’s continuous radicalization and the classification by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as evidence of the party’s extremist nature.
Sebastian Roloff, a member of the SPD’s federal executive, also expressed support for a ban, stating that, in light of the party’s officially documented right-wing extremist character, the rule of law must take all necessary measures to counter this threat to its own existence.
Lars Castellucci, the SPD’s interior policy spokesperson, stipulated a crucial condition for a ban: the initiation of a ban procedure should only occur once the courts have finally and conclusively confirmed the AfD’s classification as a right-wing extremist party in their last instance of appeal.
Castellucci emphasized the need to provide evidence that the AfD’s activities genuinely threaten the constitutional order, going beyond the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution’s assessment, which only focused on the party’s ideology, political initiatives and networking.
Ralf Stegner, an SPD member of the German Bundestag, advised that a ban application should meet all the criteria of diligence and quality to maximize the chances of success at the Constitutional Court and thus, the SPD’s federal party convention should send a clear political signal without creating undue time pressure.