Peter M. Huber, a former judge on Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court, says that banning the AfD in Thuringia could be possible. In an interview with the magazine “Focus”, he explained that a partial ban has not yet been conclusively settled and that no judicial precedent exists, but he sees the possibility of prohibiting the Thuringian state association as a less burdensome intervention.
Huber also comments on the skepticism of Thuringia’s former interior minister towards a nationwide ban. He noted that if Björn Höcke-the Thuringian AfD state chairman-were the undisputed leader of the party, the case would be straightforward, though authorities will still examine how representative he is for the party as a whole, potentially using additional staff.
Regarding the AfD’s party program, Huber does not find it constitutionally problematic. He has not studied it in detail but remarks that it resembles the CDU’s platform from the 1990s. The decisive issue, he emphasizes, is whether the AfD secretly intends to dismantle or undermine the liberal democratic order.
Huber believes that if an AfD minister‑president were to take office for the first time this year, Germany’s democratic system would remain resilient. He argues that federal instruments are in place to curb any risks that might arise. The Munich‑based jurist cautions against equating the AfD with the Nazi Party, stressing that “history does not repeat itself”.