In Germany, a group of lawmakers from various parties is moving to initiate a parliamentary request to ban the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, citing violations of human dignity and the democratic constitutional order. This proposal is reportedly backed by members of the ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens, and some opposition members from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Left Party.
According to the newspaper "Welt," at least ten lawmakers from each of these parties support the initiative, which requires the backing of at least 37 members of the Bundestag to proceed. The request has been in preparation for several months and was completed last Friday.
The AfD has recently seen significant electoral success in several state elections in eastern Germany. Lawmakers accuse the AfD of attempting to undermine the democratic constitutional order of the Federal Republic of Germany and of taking an "actively combative, aggressive stance" against it. The party is also alleged to have repeatedly violated the guaranteed human dignity of migrants, Muslims, and sexual minorities.
The request cites previous court rulings that classified the AfD as an organization suspected of operating from extreme right-wing positions. Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed skepticism about the possibility of banning the AfD, stating that such a move is challenging in a democracy and that there are significant obstacles to achieving it.
In 2017, attempts to ban the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) were unsuccessful in the Federal Constitutional Court. Although the court has since ruled to deny state funding to the NPD, the legal pathways for banning a party remain complex and fraught with challenges.
Source: dw.com, Date: 2024-10-01