Hamburg political scientist Kai-Uwe Schnapp believes the idea of banning the AfD is fundamentally wrong. “In my opinion, a ban on the AfD would be a big mistake,” said the dean of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Hamburg to the “Hamburger Abendblatt”. In a democracy, it cannot be legitimized to take away the choice options they prefer from more than a quarter of voters nationwide and thus exclude them from democratic discourse.
Excluding AfD voters would ultimately strengthen the AfD, warned Schnapp. "And a ban doesn't eliminate people's right-wing and sometimes extremist thinking at all. It just becomes more invisible for a while," said the professor at the University of Hamburg. From his point of view, it would be better to simply ignore the AfD. “If you ask me, I would advise the other parties: Don’t talk about the AfD’s issues all the time and talk little about the party.”
Instead of constantly talking about migration, the parties should set their own accents. "Tell your story and vision, and tell it well. Talk about what you want to do, be honest about it, and then do it," Schnapp said. It is also important “that the other parties remain moderate in their criticism of each other and do not constantly attack each other with excessive attacks”. Otherwise you would get the impression that everything is bad in this country. "Criticize things that are worthy of criticism, don't hide anything. But also say what's going well so that many people notice."
Schnapp doesn't believe in discussions about the firewall. “If you want to differentiate yourself, then also differentiate your political content,” said Schnapp. You don't have to work with the party, let alone form a coalition with it. "But the constant talk of the firewall excludes people, it pushes people who feel connected to the AfD deeper and deeper into a fundamental opposition to the system. That shouldn't be the goal."
After the AfD election success in Saxony-Anhalt, North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) suggested a federal-state working group to examine a possible ban procedure. Numerous politicians such as the chairman of the Conference of Interior Ministers, Hamburg's Interior Senator Andy Grote (SPD), or Hamburg's President Carola Veit support the initiative, but many others are skeptical.
Meanwhile, thousands of people have once again taken to the streets in Hamburg against right-wing extremism. According to the police and organizers, around 25,000 demonstrators marched through the city center under the motto “Time for action - freedom must be defended” to protest against right-wing extremism and the normalization of right-wing extremist parties.
Speakers included the chairwoman of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Bishop Kirsten Fehrs, Hamburg's DGB boss Tanja Chawla and the deputy Schura chairwoman Özlem Nas. Also on stage: the singer Axel Bosse. He played live with the Hamburg pub choir at Jungfernstieg in downtown Hamburg.
The organizers and partners were the “Together Against Right Hamburg” alliance, the “Prüf” initiative, the climate movement Fridays for Future Hamburg and numerous other organizations. The AfD's election result in Saxony-Anhalt with almost 44 percent was no surprise, it was said in the demonstration call. However, the international reactions showed what role this election played in the context of the growing right-wing around the world.
