Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) is publicly advocating within the Federal Government for an official process to review the possibility of banning the AfD party. Speaking to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”, the SPD politician stated that “the Federal Government can only decide on this question by consensus,” adding, “I am working toward this.”
The review of a potential ban would reportedly be managed by a joint Federal-State working group. This group would be responsible for compiling and evaluating relevant material, laying the groundwork for a subsequent binding political and legal decision. Hubig emphasized that if an application demonstrates concrete chances of success, it must be put forward.
The Justice Minister indicated her intent to utilize the hundreds of thousands of leaked AfD emails in this review. Fundamentally, all available findings could be incorporated. Therefore, those emails might be considered if they provide evidence of the AfD’s unconstitutional disposition. Hubig stressed the significance of this issue, stating that since it concerns an “existential question for democracy,” she is convinced that the conditions for a banning procedure must now be examined seriously and systematically.
The catalyst for Hubig’s efforts is the potential election of Ulrich Siegmund as the first AfD Minister-President in Saxony-Anhalt this December. She pointed to the election of an AfD deputy to the state parliament presidency as a notable turning point. Hubig remarked that since the founding of the Federal Republic, no member of an aggressively nationalist party has held such a high governmental office. While she affirmed the need to combat all extremists-including far-right, far-left, and Islamists-she warned that an AfD government in Saxony-Anhalt would pose a severe threat to the rule of law.
The legal basis for such a procedure is enshrined in Article 21 of the Basic Law. Parties that, based on their goals or the behavior of their members, intend to impair or abolish the free democratic basic order, or endanger the existence of the Federal Republic of Germany, are deemed unconstitutional. The Federal Constitutional Court holds the authority to judge such constitutional violations. Applications for a party ban can be lodged with the Federal Constitutional Court by the Bundestag, the Bundesrat, or the Federal Government; in the Bundesrat, the position of the respective state government is decisive in the voting process.
