800,000 signatures
The most important questions and answers about the AfD ban petition: This is what happens now
On Wednesday, Federal Council President Manuela Schwesig accepted a petition calling for the Federal Constitutional Court to examine a ban on the AfD. The petition was initiated by the news blog “Volksverpetzer”. Managing director Thomas Laschyk handed the petition to Schwesig.
© Sebastian Christoph Gollnau/dpa
On Wednesday, Federal Council President Manuela Schwesig adopted the petition “Consider a ban on the AfD!” in contrast to. More than 800,000 people have already signed it and want to ensure that the Federal Council initiates proceedings to ban the AfD. But the hurdles for this are high. We clarify the questions surrounding the petition.
By Florent Gallet
Who is behind the petition?
The petition was started in August 2023 by the operators of the fact-checking blog “Volksverpetzer”. The blog reports critically about the AfD and right-wing extremist movements in Germany. It was founded by the journalist Thomas Laschyk. A number of celebrities publicly support the petition: among the first signatories are the presenter Ruth Moschner, the actress Nora Tschirner and “Die Ärzte” musician Bela B.
What is the petition about?
The petition calls on the Federal Council to instruct the Federal Constitutional Court to examine a ban on the AfD. The Basic Law provides for a ban on parties if there is enough evidence that a party endangers democracy. The signatories of the petition want this to be examined by the Federal Constitutional Court. If the Federal Constitutional Court finds enough evidence that the AfD is endangering democracy in Germany, it will ban the party. Alternatively, the highest German court can also decide on other measures: These could include, among other things, withdrawing party funding or banning individual state associations.
How do petitions work?
In principle, anyone can submit a petition in Germany. Unlike in Switzerland, for example, they have no legal effect, i.e. a purely advisory function. However, if a petition receives at least 50,000 votes in the first four weeks after publication, the Bundestag Petitions Committee must officially take a position on it, which will definitely bring the issue to attention. However, this only applies if the petition is explicitly addressed to the Bundestag and is submitted via its petition platform – this is not the case with the “Check an AfD ban!” petition.
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Why is the petition addressed to the Federal Council?
Only the Federal Constitutional Court can decide to ban parties. However, the highest German court is not allowed to take action itself: the federal government, the Bundestag or the Bundesrat must first apply for party ban proceedings. According to their own statements, the “Volksverpetzer” editorial team believes they have the best chances with the Federal Council. The representatives of the states are sitting there: “This means that the ongoing party-political dispute that we know from the Bundestag is not such an inhibiting factor here,” says “Volksverpetzer” on its website. In addition, the members of the Bundesrat would sense the danger from the AfD more than their colleagues in the Bundestag and government – after all, the AfD state associations in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia have already been classified as definitely right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
What’s next with the petition to ban the AfD?
More than 800,000 people have signed the petition so far. On Wednesday, Federal Council President Manuela Schwesig officially accepted the petition, which means an important hurdle has been overcome for the “Volksverpetzer” editorial team. It is not yet clear whether the Federal Council will actually commission the Federal Constitutional Court to examine the ban. The “Volksverpetzer” editorial team assumes that the Federal Council will first wait for a decision from the Münster Higher Administrative Court. The AfD had sued the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution against its assessment of the party as a suspected right-wing extremist case, and the verdict was handed down in Münster in March. If the court confirms the suspected status, the Federal Council can conduct its own research into the AfD – and, depending on the results, instruct the Federal Constitutional Court to examine a ban.
Have parties already been banned?
In 1952, the Federal Constitutional Court banned the right-wing extremist Socialist Reich Party (SRP), which had positioned itself as the successor to the NSDAP. Four years later, the Communist Party of Germany (KDP) was banned. Since then there have been no successful party ban proceedings. In 2001, the Federal Council requested that the Federal Constitutional Court consider banning the right-wing extremist NPD. The proceedings were discontinued in 2003 following procedural errors. Another case failed in 2017: The Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the NPD was unconstitutional, but did not have the potential to endanger democracy in Germany. In January, however, the Federal Constitutional Court excluded the NPD, which has since renamed itself “Die Heimat”, from state party funding.
Sources:petition, Federal Constitutional Court, “people’s rabble-rouser”DPA news agency