Rhineland-Palatinate Premier Gordon Schnieder (CDU) has firmly rejected the notion of the Federal Constitutional Court reviewing a potential ban on the AfD, following the party’s significant electoral success in Saxony-Anhalt. Speaking to Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, Schnieder stated that he opposes any AfD ban proceedings, suggesting they would be excessively prolonged, potentially allowing extremists to perpetually maintain their victim narrative.
While Schnieder maintains his opposition to a ban, he acknowledged the proposal put forward by North Rhine-Westphalia Premier Hendrik Wüst (CDU) to establish a working group involving both federal and state governments to examine how the AfD should be handled constitutionally-which includes a potential ban review. He agreed that such a federal-state working group could be a valuable resource for discussion, though he reaffirmed his fundamental disagreement with a banning process.
In contrast to his views on the AfD, Schnieder insisted on the CDU’s incompatibility decisions regarding both the AfD and Die Linke. However, he expressed satisfaction with the consultative format used concerning Die Linke. He noted that in Saxony and Thuringia, CDU-led governments are not permanently tolerating Die Linke; rather, they simply present their initiatives to various parliamentary factions, including Die Linke, to gauge support.
