In the debate on how to deal with the AfD, the German traffic light coalition discusses sanctioning the party below the threshold of a party ban. The idea: withdrawing party financing.
The procedure for exclusion from party financing, enshrined in the Basic Law, is “an important element for the defensive state to significantly reduce state financing for anti-constitutional parties,” the SPD parliamentary director Johannes Fechner said in the newspaper . “Handelsblatt”.
Greens want “careful thinking”
After the national protests against right-wing extremism, the Greens also see cutting back on state funds as a possible option, but point out that this measure also “requires many preconditions”. “Just as with a party ban, the constitutional bodies are obliged to carefully consider legal action, taking into account the assessment of the security authorities,” parliamentary group leader Irene Mihalic told Handelsblatt.
The Union views party financing in the fight against the AfD with skepticism. The withdrawal of state resources requires the party to be classified as unconstitutional, the Union faction’s first parliamentary director, Thorsten Frei (CDU), told the newspaper.
CDU warns of further reinforcement
This would mean that the Federal Constitutional Court would have the same control effort as in an injunction procedure. “The traffic light must therefore carefully consider whether its mind games play into the hands of the AfD and contribute to the further mobilization of the extremists.” Nothing is gained when the dangerous right-wing populists portray themselves as victims.
The legislature created the possibility of a funding freeze for parties after the second NPD ban procedure at the Federal Constitutional Court failed in 2017. In 2019, the Bundestag, the Bundesrat and the federal government jointly submitted a proposal to exclude the NPD from state funding.
Far-reaching judgment
The court wants to make a ruling next Tuesday. “We will then know more about the specific obstacles of such a procedure,” Fechner told the newspaper. Regarding the AfD, he added that this could also affect other parties.
Source: Krone
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