According to the access rights that were previously common, the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag would have been given three chair positions in committees. However, the AfD candidates failed in the elections. The Federal Constitutional Court will decide on this today.
This has never happened before in the history of the Bundestag: In November 2019, the chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee, AfD MP Stephan Brandner, was voted out by the members of his committee. The reason was several statements made by the politician which the majority in the committee considered incompatible with the dignity of the office.
For example, Brandner had described the Federal Cross of Merit for the AfD-critical singer Udo Lindenberg as a “Judas’s wages” – a term that has a long tradition as an anti-Semitic insult.
“We had to pull the emergency brake”
At the oral hearing in Karlsruhe in March, other members of the Bundestag reported that the first doubts about Brandner’s suitability had already arisen in 2018 at meetings with lawyers’ associations. At those meetings, Brandner spoke mainly about the AfD’s position on marriage for all, essentially outlining his party’s plans and by no means representing all of the committee members as would have been his task.
SPD politician Johannes Fechner summed up Brandner’s appearances at the time as follows: “On the one hand, instead of acting in accordance with the commandment of moderation and working towards compromises, he abused his duties as committee chairman – for party politics and for right-wing agitation. This led to important associations in legal policy turning away, and that is why we had to pull the emergency brake and carried out the vote of no confidence.”
Stefan Brandner saw it differently. He argued in Karlsruhe that his de-election in 2019 was inadmissible, as was the fact that all committee chairs are now voted on by the respective Bundestag committee in a secret ballot. “That didn’t happen for 60 years, it was suddenly introduced, and in our view, due to the lack of a permissible election, there was no permissible de-election. And what’s more, de-election is not regulated in the rules of procedure.”
AfD insists on rights equal Participation
The proceedings before the Federal Constitutional Court are not only about Brandner’s removal from office, but also about the fact that AfD candidates did not receive a majority for the chairmanship in three other committees.
Traditionally, the parliamentary group would have received three chairs based on its strength, according to the access rights that were previously common. But since all committees now vote on the chairpersons, no AfD candidate was given the post. The parliamentary group claims that its rights to equal participation in parliament have been violated. It follows from democratic principles that they should be given a committee chair.
Fechner countered this in March: “Each parliamentary group has the opportunity to make proposals for certain committees to which it is entitled, depending on its strength. However, we cannot blindly vote for everyone who is proposed.” They should also be able to say no to convicted criminals, for example.
The verdict will be announced today at ten o’clock. Since the court has not yet made any decisions on how committee chairmen are appointed, it will certainly be important for the work of the Bundestag.