German Justice Minister Continues Pushing AfD Ban—On What Basis Again?

The threat to democracy in Germany has nothing to do with the Alternative für Germany. The threat comes from the Left trying to ban the AfD.

From The European Conservative

By Javier Villamor

Stefanie Hubig says the state must act if AfD threatens democracy—but offers no proof of how.

Germany's leftist justice minister has revived calls to ban the right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), openly threatening legal action against the country’s most popular opposition party.

In a recent interview with Rheinische Post, Stefanie Hubig of the left-wing SPD forcefully reopened the debate on the potential banning of the AfD. Unlike other politicians who have treaded carefully, Hubig openly supports keeping the option of a ban on the table. “If the legal requirements are met, then we must not hesitate,” she stated bluntly.

Hubig, former minister of education in Rhineland-Palatinate and a trained lawyer, justifies her stance in the name of the rule of law. She says her guiding principle is the German Basic Law, which she claims requires the state to act when an organization actively threatens the democratic order. What she does not explain is how AfD threatens that order, nor what exactly she even means by it.

What is clear is that the party led by Alice Weidel poses a challenge to the political establishment of both the SPD and the Christian Democrats (CDU). “We cannot discard a [banning] procedure just because AfD is rising in the polls or once again portrays itself as a victim,” Hubig said. Her remarks suggest the SPD is already preparing the political narrative.

Banning a political party in Germany is a complex process. A vote must first pass the Bundestag (the lower house of the German parliament), and then the Bundesrat—the chamber representing the federal states. Then, the final decision would be made by the Federal Constitutional Court, which has previously rejected similar attempts. This high level of legal scrutiny explains why many politicians, even critics of AfD, remain reluctant.

One of them is chancellor Friedrich Merz, leader of the CDU, who has categorically ruled out this approach. Merz warns that such a procedure risks appearing as a way to “eliminate political competitors” and points out that the burden of proof lies solely with the state. “I have always resisted internally initiating proceedings from the Bundestag,” he concluded.

Even so, within the SPD—the CDU’s coalition partner—the desire to move toward a ban is gaining traction. Hubig represents the faction of her party that openly calls for a ban if the Verfassungsschutz (Germany’s domestic intelligence agency) produces a report claiming that AfD poses an active threat to the democratic order.

In an apparent contradiction, Hubig also stated that many AfD voters are not right-wing extremists and that democratic parties must regain their trust through political debate. However, this openness to dialogue appears to clash with her actions. AfD has been excluded from all the positions of power it would normally have as the second most-voted party. It is also attacked by major media outlets, and its activists are harassed in the streets by antifascists and other radicals who won’t even allow its proposals to be discussed openly.

Pictured: Stefanie Hubig, Socialist Minister of Justice