His comments come amidst internal debate within the governing coalition regarding the feasibility and potential ramifications of such a move Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig, also of the SPD, recently expressed skepticism about the likelihood of successfully banning the party through the Federal Constitutional Court She indicated that the assessment by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which classifies the AfD as a demonstrably far-right extremist endeavor, may not meet the rigorous standards required for a prohibition Hubig emphasized the high legal threshold for such a decision
Stegner counters that existing evidence already points to widespread anti-democratic activity within the AfD He believes the Federal Office’s assessment, combined with other factors, provides sufficient grounds to initiate legal proceedings He argues that failing to act now could lead to regret in the future
Concerns, such as those recently voiced by Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, that a ban attempt could inadvertently strengthen the AfD by playing into their narrative, are not shared by Stegner He contends that any potential damage resulting from a legal process would be far outweighed by the harm already being inflicted on German democracy by the party and its representatives
