It would be “wrong” to ban the German AfD party, says the former chairman of the Constitutional Court

AfD co-leaders Tino Chrupalla (left) and Alice Weidel Photo: Carsten Coall

The former president of the constitutional court warned against banning the Alternative for Germany ” following protests calling for the poll-leading far-right party to be outlawed.

AfD members attended a secret November meeting of far-right groups at which extremists hatched plans to expel millions of immigrants.

Echoes of Nazi ideology at a time when the AfD's lead in polls in all five East German states ahead of local and European elections in June have shocked Germany.

Calls for parties to be banned

Center-right and center-left politicians have called for a ban on the party, which also has higher national rating than any of the three parties in the coalition government.

The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe decides on the ban. but its former president Hans-Jürgen Papier warned that the legal hurdles were too high for any attempt to succeed.

“This will only play into the hands of the AfD,” he told the Tagesspiegel newspaper.

“ This will only play into the hands of the AfD.»

p>Right-wing extremist 

The AfD has been classified as right-wing extremist in three East German states, but to be banned it must be proven that it is plotting to overthrow democracy.

Former President Hans-Jurgen Papier warned that the legal hurdles were too high for any attempt to succeed. Photo: Getty Images Europe

Application for a ban can be made by the federal government and parliament. and the Bundesrat, the body representing the German states.

Mr Papier warned that an application should only be made “if you have sufficient information to actually substantiate all the points mentioned and there is a high probability of success.”

“The ban proposal is wrong” 

“Based on my information, I currently believe that the proposal for a ban is wrong,” he added.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the chancellery in Berlin on Friday in support of calls for a ban by members of Olaf's ruling center Scholz. Left SPD and opposition CDU.

They waved placards reading «democracy in danger» and «never again» after German investigative team Correctiv exposed the secret meeting in Potsdam earlier this week.

«The fact that we are learning from our history is these are not just empty words. Service,» the chancellor said following the revelations, and the SPD is currently considering a ban.

The AfD said the meeting at which «remigration» was discussed did not reflect its policy on immigration, which was outlined in their manifesto. .

“Completely absurd”

“Calls for a ban on the AfD are absolutely absurd and expose the anti-democratic sentiments of those making these demands,” Alice Weidel, co-chair of the party, previously told Politico. this week.

The Constitutional Court had only banned the party twice before. The far-right Reich Socialist Party was outlawed in 1952, followed by the German Communist Party in 1956.

In 2017, a court said the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party was not popular enough to pose a threat democracy. and therefore should not be prohibited.