1. The AfD youth runs on the right
In December, the Saxon Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) classified the state association of the AfD as “certainly right-wing extremist”. After Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, it is the third AfD state association with such an assessment. After long-term observation and several legal disputes, the BfV can now also classify the party's youth organization as a confirmed extremist effort.
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Interior Minister Faeser: “Actively defend democracy”
Photo: Christopher Neundorf / EPA
The Cologne Administrative Court ruled today that the Junge Alternative (JA) continues to represent “a ethnic concept based on ethnic origins”. Preserving the German people in their ethnic structure and, if possible, excluding “ethnic foreigners” is a central political idea of the JA. This represents a violation of human dignity.
In addition, the JA is experiencing “continued massive anti-foreigner and especially anti-Islam and anti-Muslim agitation.” Asylum seekers and migrants are “generally suspected and degraded. Immigrants are generally described as freeloaders and criminals or are viewed with contempt in other ways and their human dignity is therefore disregarded." In addition, the JA agitates against the principle of democracy and maintains connections to organizations that are classified as unconstitutional, such as the "Identitarian Movement."
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution had already classified the JA as a suspected case of right-wing extremism in 2019. The Cologne administrative court dismissed a lawsuit against this in March 2022. Thomas Haldenwang, President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, said at the time: "I welcome the fact that the BfV's assessment of the AfD has been confirmed by the Cologne Administrative Court. This is a good day for democracy. Haldenwang has now been confirmed again.
My colleague Ann-Katrin Müller and my colleagues Roman Höfner and Maik Baumgärtner reported last May that the federal AfD was massively supporting the JA. The budget for the JA roughly doubled between 2019 and 2023, say officials: 30,000 euros were given to the youth association almost a year ago, and party leader Tino Chrupalla advocated for it. According to the AfD, the organization now has 2,400 members.
"It's good that the court confirms what many observers and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution have been saying for a long time," says Ann-Katrin, who has been involved with the JA for a long time. "The Junge Alternative is an important link between the new right and identitarian organizations and the AfD, and serves to network neo-Nazis and right-wing extremists with the party."
Read the whole story here: SPD and Greens see court decision on AfD youth as a victory for democracy
2. Thank King Charles III away?
The news that the British King Charles III. is suffering from cancer, hundreds of thousands of people read about it on SPIEGEL.de yesterday. The monarch's surprising announcement also met with huge interest elsewhere. Charles has not even been officially king for a year, and there is widespread concern around the world that he may be more seriously ill than appears so far.
Last Sunday, World Cancer Day, he appeared in public for the first time at a church in Sandringham/Norfolk alongside Queen Camilla after his hospital stay for prostate enlargement - apparently in good health and in good spirits. But the impression was deceptive: During the procedure on the prostate, cancer was discovered elsewhere. Charles will remain out of the public eye and receive treatment until further notice. The palace said he was “completely positive about his treatment.” Nevertheless, the future of the Royals seems more uncertain than it has been for a long time. There is already speculation about a possible abdication.
My colleague Jörg Schindler, our London correspondent, also comes to the conclusion that Buckingham Palace's communication strategy has gone completely wrong. On the one hand, King Charles III wanted With his statement, he wants to ensure the greatest possible transparency and encourage other affected people. On the other hand, according to Jörg, there is now speculation in the kingdom, and not only there: What type of cancer does he have? How far advanced? Which treatment exactly? What is the prognosis for the 75-year-old? The public initially found out nothing about this and reacted even more excitedly.
Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth, once said: "I have to be seen to be believed in." This will be impossible for Charles in the coming time. The palace announced that the king will not be attending any public appointments until further notice. This will be difficult for him, his former press secretary Julian Payne told the BBC. "He'll be eager to get back to things as quickly as possible."
After all: a constitutional crisis is unlikely, writes Jörg. In addition to Charles' son William, Charles' siblings Anne and Edward and Queen Camilla would also be available to take over the official duties of the sick monarch in an emergency. And since it is now known that the cancer was detected at an early stage, there is hope that it can be treated well.
Read more here: Who will take over if the king can't?
3. Driving bans will in future apply throughout the EU
So far, I have not had such behavioral problems in traffic in other EU countries that I was in danger of having my driver's license taken away. Sure, sometimes I drove a little too fast, sometimes I parked incorrectly. Sometimes I thought about whether I should ignore the punishment mandates that came from Italy or France. In cases where I tried it, I paid a lot of money, but it always became much more expensive. In these cases, the EU already acted uniformly and administrative offenses were passed on to the respective countries from which the perpetrators came.
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Driving licenses (symbolic image)
Photo: Sina Schuldt/dpa
However, if the offenses were so serious that you had to give up your driving license, the national regulations still applied. Until now, it was like this: In most cases, a driving ban only applied in the state in which an offense was committed and had no consequences for driving in other EU states - not even in the one that issued the driving license.
This should be over now. The members of the EU Parliament agreed today that a revocation of a driving license in one EU country should apply throughout the EU. To ensure that the respective sanction is applied in all EU states, the proposed new rules will require this decision to be passed on to the state that issued the driving license, Parliament said. The same procedure applies to driving licenses as to illegal parking.
“Anyone who commits a serious traffic offense and loses their driving license is not allowed to continue racing in the neighboring country,” said EU MP Markus Ferber (CSU). »The revocation of driving licenses must also work across borders. It is difficult to convey that this is still not possible in an integrated internal market.«
He's right, I think. Even if I have had my own experience with this type of “integrated internal market” in a weaker form. In any case, the new regulation will motivate me even more to pay attention to the traffic rules.
Read more here: Driving bans should apply throughout the EU
What else is important today?
Trump has no immunity from charges of attempted election fraud:
An appeals court has ruled: Former US President Donald Trump is not immune from prosecution in connection with the storming of the Capitol. However, the question has probably not yet been finally answered.
Von der Leyen wants to withdraw a bill against pesticides:
Parliament was against it, and the states also did not agree - now the EU Commission is canceling a proposed environmental protection law. Commission chief von der Leyen announced a new proposal.
Driving bans should apply throughout the EU:
So far, anyone who is banned from driving in Italy has been allowed to get behind the wheel in Germany. The EU Parliament wants this practice to change.
Court bans further passages from book about Helmut Kohl:
Parts of Heribert Schwan's tell-all book about former Chancellor Helmut Kohl have already been banned, and now the Cologne Higher Regional Court has confiscated further passages. The author describes the verdict as “unbelievable”.
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+
When private nursing care insurance makes sense:
Anyone who needs nursing care will usually only receive part of the costs reimbursed by the state. You can take precautions for this with a private additional policy. What variants are there? And what should you pay attention to?
Why we discover so little when we travel:
What do I need to see? What can I experience on site? And where can I find the best paella? It's all already on the internet. That's pretty helpful. But is it really the experience we want?
"Their eyes were sensitive because many were in the dark for a long time."
More than 35 children and young people were abducted to Gaza by Hamas terrorists. Pediatrician Efrat Bron-Halev looked after 19 of them after their release. Here she reports on the progress the treatment of the children is making.
“The better of two very bad solutions”:
More than two years after the federal election, a good half a million Berliners are being asked to cast their votes again. For party lawyer Sophie Schönberger, this comes too late, but there is no alternative.
Which is less important today
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Maike Kohl-Richter
Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
Schwan over it:
The widow of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl,
Maike Kohl-Richter
, 60, has once again achieved legal success against Kohl's former ghostwriter Heribert Schwan. The Cologne Higher Regional Court has banned further passages from Schwan's tell-all book. At the beginning of the noughties, Schwan worked as a ghostwriter together with Kohl and wrote his memoirs. He recorded Kohl's long descriptions of his political life on cassette. Then they fell out and fought their dispute in court. Kohl-Richter continued the trial after Kohl's death. Schwan was disappointed with the court's decision. "If I had been asked to keep things confidential, I would have run away," he told the dpa news agency.
Mini concave mirror
You can find the entire concave mirror here.
Cartoon of the day
And tonight?
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Pop stars Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson during the recording of “We are the world”
Photo: Netflix / Courtesy of Netflix
I would like to pass on to you a tip that I received yesterday from my esteemed colleague Patricia Dreyer. A week ago, Netflix released the documentary "The Greatest Night in Pop" about the creation of one of the most famous pop songs of all time: "We are the world." The song was composed by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie on the occasion of "Live Aid" in 1985. 46 superstars of the pop era recorded it in one night - arranged and conducted by one of the greatest music producers: Quincy Jones. The schedules of people like Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen and Jackson and Richie had to be aligned so that they could all fly to Los Angeles for a day. The recordings were accompanied by the camera, now you can experience the night again. Absolutely worth seeing.
I wish you a nice evening.
Heartfelt
Yours, Janko Tietz, Head of Germany/Panorama Department