extremism
President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution reiterates criticism of AfD
Thomas Haldenwang, President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. photo
© Christoph Soeder/dpa
During the election meeting of the AfD at the weekend, the President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution made a “standstill promise” on himself. Now he is renewing his criticism – in the service of a well-fortified democracy.
Haldenwang said something similar after the first part of the party event about a week ago. He said that “various candidates for election had expressed right-wing extremist conspiracy theories”. On the other hand, the party defended itself in court with an urgent application and demanded an injunction. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution then committed itself in a “standstill agreement” to refraining from critical statements during the AfD European election meeting last weekend.
Regarding the reasons, Haldenwang told the ARD: “The submission of a standstill commitment is a common procedure in such urgent proceedings in order to give the court sufficient time for a proper examination and decision.”
Haldenwang also spoke of fulfilling his legal mandate by informing the public. “As a means of a well-fortified democracy, this serves the purpose of informing the public about efforts and behavior that are directed against the free democratic basic order. In this way, such efforts can be countered in good time through social and political debate.”
A party conference of the AfD had determined the candidates for the European elections in 2024 and decided on the election program over the past two weekends in Magdeburg.