The traffic light coalition and the Union have presented a proposal for financing political foundations. Foundations that are anti-constitutional and those on the right-wing fringe should no longer be supported – this could mean that the AfD comes away empty-handed.
When the first draft of the 2024 budget law was submitted to the Bundestag in September, it contained a position for which there is no legal basis. At least not yet.
According to the draft, several hundred million euros should be earmarked for political foundations. Political foundations are those that are recognized by a party associated with them. As in previous years, money should go to the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (close to the SPD), the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (close to the FDP), the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (close to the CDU), and the Hanns Seidel Foundation (close to the CSU), the Heinrich Böll Foundation (close to the Greens) and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (close to the Left). But not the Desiderius Erasmus Foundation, which is close to the AfD.
The problem is that, according to a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court in February, a law is needed that clearly regulates the criteria according to which money is allocated to political foundations. And that doesn’t exist yet. The ruling was fought by the AfD, which saw its right to equal opportunities violated by not taking the Desiderius Erasmus Foundation into account and won the case before the Federal Constitutional Court.
The verdict was no surprise. The decades-long practice of distributing money as part of budget negotiations has long been criticized.
Cross-factional Bill
A legal basis should now be added – and, if possible, passed in conjunction with the 2024 budget law. Otherwise, no money will be paid out to the foundations in the coming year. The bill that… ARD capital studio present comes from the center of Parliament. It is a joint draft of the traffic light factions and the Union faction. There was also coordination with the left. This will be debated in the plenary session of the Bundestag on Friday.
How much money a foundation receives should be determined by the election results of the party associated with it in the last four federal elections. This could mean that a foundation will receive less money in the future than before. If a party leaves the Bundestag for a legislative period – like the FDP did in 2013 – the financing should still continue.
In addition, the related party must have been represented in the Bundestag in at least three consecutive legislative periods. The AfD is only represented in the Bundestag for the second time, so its foundation would currently fail on this criterion.
Constitutional loyalty as a prerequisite
But there is another requirement that could make it difficult for the Desiderius Erasmus Foundation to receive money from the state in the future.
The prerequisite for funding should be that the foundation actively promotes “the free, democratic basic order and the idea of international understanding”. A prognosis decision should be made. Evidence against funding could therefore arise from the foundation’s previous work or from publications.
The cooperation of people who are suspected of pursuing unconstitutional efforts should also be relevant. Just like an anti-constitutional influence on the basic political current that can be attributed to the foundation. According to the justification for the law, the party should not be directly targeted at this point. Rather, the focus should be on which socio-political current supports the party sociologically and binds it programmatically. If an anti-constitutional attitude is part of this, this could have an impact on the foundation’s expected work.
Since 2022, funding for political foundations has been linked to their loyalty to the constitution – with a corresponding addition in the budget law. The Federal Constitutional Court postponed the decision on whether this was permissible in February. However, the judges had made it clear: the protection of the free, democratic basic order can play a role in the distribution of state funds. A final decision from Karlsruhe could come this year – and then be taken into account in the legislative process.