Felix Banaszak, the leader of the Green Party, has qualified previous statements in which he suggested that soldiers might “desert” if the AfD became Defense Minister. These comments were originally made in a YouTube-formatted piece titled “Young and Naive”. When pressed about what military personnel should do in the event of an AfD Defense Minister, he had stated, “Then they can still desert”.
However, Banaszak later told the “Welt”, clarifying the context. He stated that the discussion revolved around a purely hypothetical scenario and that his answer had been “emotionally charged”. He emphasized that his comment was absolutely not a legal assessment and should not be misinterpreted as a call to action.
Despite the retraction regarding desertion, he noted that the possibility of “right-wing extremists gaining political responsibility over security agencies or the armed forces” remains a deep source of concern for him. He stressed the historical importance of the troops as the parliamentary army of the constitutional order, insisting that soldiers within the Bundeswehr must not only think for themselves but are expressly encouraged to do so, which includes avoiding blind obedience. Ultimately, Banaszak stated that the most important task for democrats must be to ensure “that right-wing extremists never reach such a position”.
