'It's about our friends and neighbours': Left Party MP calls on Germany to ban the AfD

“The expert opinion clearly shows that the legal requirements for a ban procedure against the Alternative for Germany are met,” Clara Bünger, Left Party (Die Linke) Member of the Bundestag told The Local.

Bünger, who has a background in law, says that a recently published expert report makes clear that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is liable to be banned as a political party according to German law.

“Now it is a political question,” she said.

Representing the city of Dresden, Bünger is a direct opponent to the AfD in a state, Saxony, where the party receives a high-level of support. 

Ahead of elections in two other former East German states – Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania – where the AfD is expected to win the most votes and is thought to have a real shot at taking power, she is calling on Germany’s government institutions to “use the instruments that the Basic Law provides for the protection of democracy.”

Last week the Society for Civil Liberties (Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte - GFF) released a 3,000 page report, which offered a comprehensive argument for why the AfD could be banned in Germany from a legal point of view.

The report included a mass analysis of social media posts, parliamentary documents and party press releases. Ultimately, it found that the party’s goals are unconstitutional and that it poses a threat to Germany democratic institutions.

"Yes, the AfD could be banned," reads a headline in the report summary. 

Chancellor Friedrich Merz has repeatedly said he does not support seeking a party ban against the AfD, arguing that the party must be defeated at the ballot box instead. 

Clara Bünger disagrees. "From my point of view, the legal prerequisites for an AfD ban procedure are met," she told The Local.

"I have no doubt that people like [Björn] Höcke would be willing to deport millions of people," she added, referring to the leader of the AfD's state chapter in Thuringia. "This is not about some abstract threat. It's about our neighbours, colleagues and friends.

"That is precisely why we must not stand idly by. The rule of law must be enacted before those who hate humanity assume positions of government responsibility."

In Germany the decision to ban a political party lies with the Federal Constitutional Court, but either the federal government, or one of the chambers of Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag or the Bundesrat, would need to bring the case.

Asked who in parliament would be expected to support a ban, Bünger said that the Left Party “has long called for the initiation of a ban procedure against the AfD.” 

She also suggests that some members of parliament in the Social Democrat Party (SPD) and Greens are in favour of it. 

Still it would be unlikely that the Bundestag initiates a ban procedure without the support of Merz and the conservative Christian Union parties (CDU/CSU), which hold the most seats in parliament and have so far opposed the idea. 

“The ball is mainly in the Union's court,” Bünger said. “Unless Friedrich Merz and the CDU/CSU give in, it would be difficult to get a broad, non-partisan initiative off the ground.”

For Bünger, and other supporters of a ban on the far-right party, there is hope that the GFF report could change the national debate. She suggests the argument that the legal requirements for a ban are unclear has effectively been eliminated.

Nationwide, recent polls suggest that between 26 and 29 percent of voters support the AfD, giving it a clear lead over any other party.

So if the AfD were to be banned, a potential consequence would be that around a quarter of voters could feel disenfranchised.

Bünger is clear-eyed about the fact that a party ban would not be enough to defuse the influence of the far-right in Germany.

For starters she suggests that those who say they oppose the AfD "must not adopt its demands". 

Asked what else it would take for Germany to defend itself from anti-democratic ideologies, she says that greater effort is needed to improve the lives of the general population: "A democratic offensive is needed, especially in the East and in rural areas. People need to experience that they can make a difference...and that democracy tangibly improves their lives."

"Fascism is not fought only in court, but above all politically and in everyday life," she said.