The Federal Constitutional Court has declared the increase in state party funding initiated by the grand coalition in 2018 to be unconstitutional (File number: 2 BvF 2/18here the press release of the BVerfG). The judges in Karlsruhe are thus upholding a lawsuit that the FDP, Greens and Left Party had filed together.
The three parties, all in opposition at the time, came together in an unusual alliance. They were united by their anger at the grand coalition, which had decided on the change in a rushed parliamentary procedure.
The CDU/CSU and SPD raised the upper limit for state party funding by EUR 25 million to EUR 190 million per year. Because the sum is regularly adjusted to the inflation rate, it is now well over 200 million euros.
At the time, the Union and the Social Democrats argued that more money was needed for the challenges associated with digitization, for example because the parties had to counter “fake news” on the Internet or avert attacks by hackers.
Members of Parliament from the Greens, Left and FDP considered the hefty plus – even if they also benefited from it themselves – to be disproportionate and feared it could give the impression that the parties had a self-service mentality.
In the opinion of the Federal Constitutional Court, the legislature has not sufficiently explained why the increase in this amount is necessary, explained the chairwoman of the second senate and vice-president of the court, Doris König. This means that the old legal basis for party financing applies again. What that means in concrete terms for the money already paid out, i.e. whether the parties have to pay anything back, is still unclear.
The AfD also complained in Karlsruhe
The parties in Germany receive membership fees and donations also money from the state. This is regulated in the party law, where the so-called “partial state financing” is defined. The scope of the state grant is measured by two criteria: On the one hand, it depends on the electoral success. All parties that receive at least 0.5 percent of the votes in federal and European elections or more than one percent of the votes in a state election receive a fixed amount per vote.
On the other hand, the sum is calculated on the basis of donations from natural persons to the parties, i.e. donations and membership fees. There is a fixed amount for each donation. However, large donations that exceed certain sums will not be considered.
There are two upper limits for the money that the parties receive from the state. The absolute upper limit – this is what the judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court was about – determines the maximum amount that is paid out to all parties entitled to claim. There is also a relative upper limit: the state share must not exceed that which the parties generate themselves. This goes back to the Basic Law, which prohibits predominantly state party financing.
According to an overview by the Bundestag, a total of 20 parties were entitled to state funding in 2021. The spectrum ranges from around 13,600 euros for “Team Todenhöfer” to just over 56 million euros for the SPD.
The Federal Constitutional Court also has to decide on another lawsuit filed by the AfD in the question of party financing. In particular, she criticizes that the grand coalition pushed the law through the Bundestag far too quickly in a rush action. A decision on this lawsuit is expected at 2 p.m.