Constitutional lawyer Christoph Möllers is advocating for an amendment to the German Basic Law, ahead of the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern this September. In an interview with the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit”, he proposed changing Article 91b. Currently, this article dictates that federal and state governments can only collaborate on university matters if they act unanimously. Möllers argues that the Basic Law must be altered to prevent the veto power of a single state from derailing an entire project, citing the Excellence Strategy as an example.
Looking at non-university research, the jurist warns of the risk of states exercising undue control. He notes that, theoretically, a state could decide to close a Max Planck Institute, deeming the project “too risky.” Such a scenario, he says, is conceivable if a party like the AfD were to take power in Sachsen-Anhalt.
Möllers also stresses that the freedom of teaching and research, guaranteed by Article 5 of the Basic Law, offers insufficient protection against interference by authoritarian parties. “There is no guarantee for academic freedom and research,” he points out.
Even without a full constitutional crisis, universities are already facing severe pressure due to state austerity measures. He criticizes many states for failing in their academic governance. If the state withdraws previously pledged funding, as is currently happening in Berlin, Möllers explains, “the state is compromising academic freedom without breaking the constitution. You are not acting illegally, but you are abandoning your political credibility.”
