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AfD election party in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: “Real danger for society”
Photo: Marcus Brandt / picture alliance / dpa
The Bremen government coalition made up of the Greens, SPD and Left wants to push ahead with possible ban proceedings against the AfD.
The political groups announced this in a joint statement.
According to the motion, which the citizens will probably vote on next week, the Bremen Senate should first work at the federal level to ensure that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution creates a collection of material on the AfD.
Bremen should then push for a decision on a ban procedure in the Federal Council.
In addition, the ban on the youth organization Junge Alternative under association law should be examined.
Only the Federal Constitutional Court can decide on a ban - after an application from the Bundestag, Bundesrat or Federal Government.
The AfD is a real danger to society, democracy and its institutions, said parliamentary group leader Sofia Leonidakis.
»The instruments of the constitution are not there for the gallery, but to protect it when necessary.
From our point of view, the time has come for this.«
The nationwide material on the AfD and the Junge Alternative should be compiled and evaluated.
“If the constitutional requirements for a ban procedure are met, Bremen will seek cooperation at the federal level for a ban application.”
The decision would then be up to the judges of the Federal Constitutional Court.
“The least we urgently need to do now”
With the initiative, Bremen is taking on a "pioneering role in the fight against right-wing extremism" nationwide, said SPD parliamentary group leader Mustafa Güngör.
If the AfD were to assume government responsibility in individual states or even at the federal level, “infiltration of the executive and legislative branches by constitutional enemies close to the AfD” could no longer be ruled out.
A ban procedure must therefore be examined “as quickly as possible” and, if necessary, initiated.
“In view of the recent events that are personally frightening so many people in Germany, this is the least we urgently need to do now,” said Green Party parliamentary group leader Henrike Müller.
According to Correctiv research, AfD people and right-wing extremists openly discussed their expulsion plans at a meeting in a Potsdam hotel: According to this, people should leave the country on a large scale, including those who have the right to be here.
The research led to large demonstrations against the AfD in many German cities.
more on the subject
Debate about party ban: Nancy Faeser does not rule out an AfD ban process
Possible AfD ban: The sharpest sword
Fight against right-wing extremism: Why it would be wrong to spare the AfD a ban procedureAn essay by Dirk Kurbjuweit
The demonstrations fueled the debate about a ban on the AfD.
In addition, there is the work of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which is apparently preparing to classify the entire AfD as “certain extremist”.
Statements by the head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, have suggested this for some time.
Skeptics of a ban, however, argue that the AfD could still benefit from a ban procedure with an uncertain outcome.
The party must be fought politically.
"I'm not a fan of banning the AfD," said Chancellor Olaf Scholz in an interview with SPIEGEL: "I'm convinced that the citizens will ensure that the importance of this party decreases again."
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