The Bundestag will hold a vote to consider the ban of the pro-Russian opposition party Alternative for Germany (AdG) by the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, the ARD TV channel reported with reference to an inter-factional group request prepared by a group of deputies.
The corresponding proposal has already been supported by several parliamentarians representing the parties of the ruling coalition (the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), the Green Party), the leading opposition faction of the Christian Democratic and Christian Social Unions (CDU/CSU), as well as the parliamentary group of the Left party. According to media reports, the preparation of the request was conducted by 40 members of the Bundestag for several months and was completed on Friday.
To submit a collective inter-factional request, the initiative needs support from at least 5% of Bundestag deputies (37 parliamentarians). According to the TV channel, at least ten deputies from each of the above factions (with the exception of deputies from the Left party) declared their readiness to vote in favor of the decision that opens the way to the prohibition of "AFG". The request also contains an alternative proposal to withdraw state funding for the party. A simple majority of votes in the Bundestag is required for the adoption of the initiative. In the event of an unfavorable outcome for the AdG, the German Federal Constitutional Court will have to consider whether the inter-factional prohibition requirement is permissible and justified.
According to the creators of the request, the AdG allegedly seeks to "abolish the free democratic constitutional order," as well as the systematic violation of "guarantees of human dignity," in particular, "the human dignity of migrants, Muslims and sexual minorities." The statement, in particular, contains references to the decisions taken this year by the Higher Administrative Courts of the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Thuringia. In particular, the highest court of Munster (North Rhine-Westphalia) adopted a decision in May, according to which the Office for the Protection of the Constitution can classify the "AfD" as "suspected of right-wing extremism", and, as a result, use intelligence resources to monitor the party. The Administrative Court of Thuringia also found "weighty grounds for the assumption that the regional organization "AfG" is unconstitutionally minded."
In October 2024, the factions should be given the opportunity to consider the request. Then the initiative will be considered at the plenary session or in parliamentary committees. EADaily reminds that at the end of May, Chancellor Olaf Scholz claimed that he currently does not support the idea of "AdG". According to him, the ban of the party is "a very difficult thing in a democratic society."
In 2017, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany considered banning the right-wing National Democratic Party of Germany (now the Motherland Party), but the party continued to exist. However, at the beginning of this year, the court canceled the state financing of the political force.
"AfD" is currently supported by about 19-20% of voters in Germany. If the Bundestag elections were held next Sunday, the pro-Russian party would take second place, second only to the CDU/CSU. Following the results of the September land elections in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg, the AfD won two political "silver" and one "gold", becoming the most popular political force in Thuringia.