AfD ban: Schwesig backs joint federal-state working group

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Minister-President Manuela Schwesig (SPD) supports a joint working group of the federal government and the states to examine a possible ban on the AfD. “That is why I am in favour of the states setting up a working group together with the federal government,” she told RTL and ntv's “Frühstart” programme on Thursday. The group would collect all incidents and findings on the AfD, after which an expert would make a recommendation. The states are currently discussing it, Schwesig said.

The SPD politician stressed the limits of politics: “Because we as politicians cannot ban the AfD. Only the Federal Constitutional Court can decide that.” Only the Bundestag, the Bundesrat or the federal government can file a ban application, and experts expect proceedings to take years. Schwesig also called for a debate on substance, describing the AfD's plans to leave the euro as a “catastrophe for the economy.” What the security services know about the party must be taken seriously, she said: “And that is a serious threat.”

The idea was first proposed in September by North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister-President Hendrik Wüst (CDU). According to dpa, he stressed that the review must be open-ended and should not automatically lead to ban proceedings. Outgoing Bundesrat President Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD) recently backed the idea as well. The domestic intelligence service classifies the AfD nationwide as a suspected case; some state branches are rated confirmed right-wing extremist by state authorities.