Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) reportedly advocated internally for promptly initiating a ban procedure against the Alternative for Germany (AfD). This information was reported by Spiegel, citing several sources. During the latest session of the SPD’s party executive before the summer recess, Pistorius is said to have strongly argued for taking the next steps toward a formal ban.
According to reports, once the Society for Civil Rights published a new expert opinion on the AfD at the end of June, Pistorius felt that the prerequisites for submitting a ban application were met. He reportedly viewed waiting and doing nothing as no longer an option, stressing that the SPD had to move forward with the process immediately.
Georg Maier (SPD), the Interior Minister in Thuringia, also supports a ban procedure. Maier told Spiegel that the discussion surrounding a potential AfD ban is unfortunately still being treated primarily as a political test of courage. He emphasized that a defensive democracy obliges itself to act when the foundations of liberal order are attacked. Maier called upon the Union party to fulfill this historic responsibility.
Within the CDU/CSU Union, there are also individual voices advocating for the ban procedure. Dennis Radtke, head of the Union’s workers’ wing, told Spiegel that an application to the Federal Constitutional Court is finally necessary to examine the AfD’s constitutionality. He asserted that only the Constitutional Court can make that decision, stating that “it is high time to instruct Karlsruhe.”
