German constitutional judges decided on Tuesday, January 23, to cut off funds to the small far-right party Die Heimat, fueling debate over the possibility of doing the same with the growing AfD.
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The opinion of the Constitutional Court of Karlsruhe was eagerly awaited. The NPD party, renamed Die Heimat (The Homeland) last year, “ continues to aim, in contempt of human dignity and the democratic principle of the Basic Law, at a replacement of the existing constitutional order by an authoritarian “national state” », Estimated the judges, thus justifying the suspension for six years of all public funding for this training.
The unprecedented verdict was welcomed by the government. He ” confirms the fact that we must not leave much room for the enemies of freedom », Reacted Chancellor Olaf Scholz, questioned during a press conference in Berlin. His Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser welcomed a decision which comes at a time when “ Once again right-wing extremism is the greatest threat to our democracy “. Allusion to the recent revelation of a gathering of ultra identitarians in Potsdam where several members of the AfD discussed the mass expulsion of people of foreign origincausing an electric shock in Germany, still haunted by its Nazi past. Giant demonstrations against this partyaccused of undermining democracy, have been held throughout the country for several days.
Voices were raised to demand the banning of the party, which is booming even though it lost two points, to 20%, in a Forsa poll published Tuesday for RTL and n-tv television. However, he remains in second position, behind the conservatives (31%) and far ahead of the allies of Olaf Scholz’s coalition.
A long procedure
But a long and very complex ban procedure could, in the event of failure, cause the opposite effect to that sought, namely to strengthen the AfD. A request to the Court aimed at banning the NDP had also failed twice. The option of temporarily cutting public funds from the AfD was thus mentioned by certain social democratic, environmentalist or conservative deputies as an alternative to a ban. “ Even if the constitutional obstacles to future procedures remain high, we now have an additional instrument to protect our democracy », Estimated Nancy Faeser. Any party in Germany that obtains at least 0.5% in national or European elections, or 1% in regional elections receives public money. As such, the AfD was able to claim 10.5 million euros in 2022.
But such a procedure would also take time, because it would first be necessary to prove that the AfD is pursuing aims against the democratic order. The request from the Bundestag, the Bundesrat and the government concerning the elimination of subsidies and advantages granted to the NPD dates back to 2019. For the moment, the AfD is only partially in the crosshairs of the intelligence services. These regional branches in Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, in the former communist GDR, were placed under police surveillance.
Additionally, the option would be “ highly problematic » for German democratic culture, Wolfgang Kubicki, vice-president of the Bundestag, member of the liberal party allied to the government, told AFP. “ If we give the impression that the political competitor can decide the chances and possibilities of participation of another party, we destroy the bases of our democratic coexistence “, he declared, inviting the established parties instead to fight against the AfD with ” their political ideas “.
The AfD has taken advantage in recent months of the insecurity of the population resulting from a new influx of migrants into the country and the permanent quarrels between the three parties of the government coalition, against a backdrop of economic recession and high inflation. The party is currently in the lead with more than 30% in the three Länder of Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg, its strongholds in eastern Germany where regional elections are being held in September.
(With AFP)