Almost ten hours that have an impact: After a hearing in the Thuringian state parliament on a possible AfD ban procedure, CDU representatives appear thoughtful but still cautious. “Of course we were skeptical in general and the skepticism has not gone away,” said lawyer and CDU MP Wolfgang Weißkopf of the German Press Agency in Erfurt. You have to make sure whether the conditions for a ban on the AfD are met or not. “And if they are available, then the CDU will not oppose them. But this needs to be examined carefully.”
Members of the Justice Committee interviewed lawyers, experts and celebrities about a possible AfD ban procedure until late into the night from Wednesday to Thursday. The hearing was triggered by a request from the Thuringian Left parliamentary group, which essentially wants the state government to support a ban proposal at the federal level. Several experts signaled that they consider the requirements for such a procedure to be met. But there were also dissenting voices - for example from an AfD lawyer who was heard and also from the former Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution Hans-Georg Maaßen, who met with AfD parliamentary group leader Björn Höcke for lunch.
A speech by the entertainer Hape Kerkeling caused a stir. "Anyone who trivializes and refutes this country's criminal past forfeits any political raison d'être in our democracy," said the 62-year-old in parliament in Erfurt and: The state's promise is: "We will not tolerate fascism in Germany."
Thuringia's AfD parliamentary group deputy Daniel Haseloff criticized a sentence from Kerkeling that the actor said in the question part of his hearing. “People who come with the election slogan: Everything is possible - I understand that with a car manufacturer. It's about increasing speed and having more seats in the car. But a political party where everything is possible and which makes that its election slogan, Buchenwald is also possible under certain circumstances," Kerkeling said.
The entertainer was alluding to a campaign slogan of Saxony-Anhalt's AfD top candidate Ulrich Siegmund, who promoted his party with the slogan "Everything is possible". Haseloff spoke of a “scandalous statement” by Kerkeling. “Of course I feel a little sorry for Mr. Kerkeling’s story and I also understand his emotions, but to associate that with us is of course a harsh accusation, a harsh attack,” Haseloff told the dpa. Kerkeling's grandfather was a political prisoner in the Buchenwald concentration camp and experienced forced labor and torture there.
The Left faction found the hearing “important and historic at the same time”. The question of a ban on the AfD was not just discussed in the abstract. “It was precisely the diversity of positions that made the debate so valuable,” said Left MP Katharina König-Preuss.
When asked, Thuringia's CDU parliamentary group leader Andreas Bühl said that the hearing had shown how different the legal assessments were. “We will carefully evaluate the oral hearing and the many written statements and discuss them in the group before we make any further decisions,” he announced. A ban on a party should neither be rushed nor sought for electoral reasons. “Going to Karlsruhe is only justifiable if the evidence supports it and the legal chances of success speak for it.”
But that doesn't mean that his group shouldn't evaluate the legal options with an open mind. “Especially with a possible ban on individual state associations, the hearing revealed considerable legal difficulties,” said Bühl. Anyone who sees this as an easier path must seriously consider the legal concerns raised.
The Social Democrats in Thuringia have long been in favor of banning the AfD. Most recently, Katja Wolf, the head of Thüringen.Gerecht, the CDU's second coalition partner, signaled an openness to such a procedure.
