The , by the Bundesverfassungsschutz (BfV), Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, means that the entire party is considered anti-constitutional. Previously, only the regional branches in the eastern states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt and the AfD youth organization had been assessed accordingly by authorities.
The intelligence service classifies a party as “confirmed far-right extremist,” when it finds it to be
– “opposed to the free democratic basic order,” i.e. opposing central principles such as human dignity, the rule of law, equality before the law and democracy
– acting in a nationalist, racist or xenophobic manner or showing blanket rejection of ethnic or cultural minorities. According to the BfV, the AfD does not consider Germans “with a history of immigration from Muslim countries” to be equal members of German society. Politicians from the party had also been found to “continuously” agitate against refugees and immigrants, the BfV stated.
– advocating for or at least supporting violence as a means of achieving political goals
– representing antisemitic, revisionist or anti-democratic ideologies
The classification as “confirmed right-wing extremist” has various consequences: It is now possible to observe AfD meetings, tap telephones and recruit informants; the findings could directly impact on elected officials who may lose their jobs; state party funding can be withdrawn.
Also, the party could possibly be banned.
Many parliamentarians have long maintained that a classification as “confirmed right-wing extremist” was an important prerequisite for considering such a step.
How to ban a party?
Article 21 of the German constitution, the Basic Law, states: “Parties that, by reason of their aims or the behavior of their adherents, seek to undermine or abolish the free democratic basic order or to endanger the existence of the Federal Republic of Germany shall be unconstitutional.”
It’s up to the to decide whether a political party can be banned. The federal government, the Bundestag, and the chamber of the 16 federal states, the Bundesrat, are entitled to file a petition.
If a ban were initiated, a lengthy judicial process would begin. The outcome is uncertain.
Meanwhile, the AfD, which is currently the strongest political party in opinion polls at around 26%, is crying foul, claiming that their political opponents are instrumentalizing the judiciary against them as they are failing through democratic means.
The pros and cons of trying to ban the AfD
Outgoing Chancellor was one of the first, this Friday, to
Stefan Seidler, the lone member of the South Schleswig Voters’ Association (SSW) party in the Bundestag, which represents the country’s Danish minority, has been a staunch supporter of a ban. He told DW in 2024: “You can recognize an enemy of democracy by the way they deal with minorities. Cracks in the democratic foundations of our society become evident for minorities early on. Our democracy needs to be well fortified. As democrats, we are obliged to use all the tools we have available. This includes the inspection in Karlsruhe [the seat of the Federal Constitutional Court].”
Political analysts hold differing views on how likely the attempt to ban the AfD is to succeed. Hendrik Cremer of the German Institute for Human Rights in Berlin believes a ban is urgently needed and could be successful. “If you look at the AfD closely, I think you have to come to the conclusion that the conditions for a ban are met,” he told DW in May, adding that he finds it difficult to understand why some still express any doubts.
Azim Semizoglu, a constitutional law expert at the University of Leipzig, is more skeptical. In his view, the classification of the AfD as “definitely right-wing extremist” by Germany’s domestic intelligence service, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), does not automatically guarantee a successful ban, he previously told DW. That is only one piece of evidence among many, Semizoglu argued. “You can’t conclude from it that if a party is classified as a definitely right-wing extremist, it is also unconstitutional in the sense of the Basic Law,” he said.
Renowned legal scholar Ulrich Battis told DW: “The ban is clearly defined: Article 21 of the Basic Law [Germany’s constitution] provides the possibility for this from the outset. It must concern an active campaign against the free democratic order. The party’s aim must be to overcome the political system.”
The failed attempt to ban the NPD
To weigh the pros and cons of banning the AfD, it is worth looking at the failed attempt to ban the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany NPD. In the 2017 verdict on that case, the constitutional court ruled that the former was indeed unconstitutional, but also politically insignificant. “In the more than five decades of its existence, the NPD has not managed to be permanently represented in a state parliament,” it said.
In addition, the other parties in the federal and state parliaments had been unwilling to form coalitions or even to cooperate with the NPD on specific issues, the court stated at the time. That last point also applies in the case of the AfD, at least so far. However, the first argument does not. The AfD is an influential force, even without being part of any government.
The successful move to ban the KPD
However, there is precedent for Germany banning a political party during the post-war era. The German communist party (KPD) was banned in 1956 although it had won representation in the West German Bundestag. It was the second party ban in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany after the openly neo-Nazi Socialist Reich Party (SRP) was banned in 1952. It led to the forced dissolution of the first German Communist Party (KPD), the withdrawal of its political mandates, the ban on the founding of substitute organizations and legal proceedings against thousands of members.
This article was originally written in German. It was first published in October 2024 and updated to reflect news developments on May 2, 2025.
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