Last Tuesday, in Germany constitutional Court I take one transcendent decision as part of the vindication of the historical memory of the European country. He enabled the withdrawal of public funds from the neo-Nazi Homeland party.
This measure, according to an official, It can become a “model” for action against other parties that spread hate speech as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
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Currently, the popularity of the AfD is increasing rapidly, and it is an issue that has German public opinion in suspense. This party is not only at the center of the debate, but also It is monitored by National Security as it is considered a “suspected case of far-right extremism.”
In the Homeland case, the court stated that was “excluded from state funding for a period of six years.” The legal arguments that were raised focused on the fact that this political organization intended to “eliminate the free democratic order.” But, at the same time, evidenced a “racist attitude, in particular anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic and anti-gypsy”.
With this court ruling, this neo-Nazi group will not be able to access state financing or tax exemption that is assigned to the parties participating in electoral processes.
The chancellor, Olaf Scholz, He assured in his statements to the media that this measure is a “confirmation of the path so as not to offer much space to the enemies of freedom.”
In the case of the AfD, it is currently positioned in second place in national polls. Likewise, in several eastern regions he leads the voting intention. The true picture of how far its reach extends can be seen during the elections at the end of this year.
In this context, Markus Soeder, the conservative prime minister of southern Bavaria, explained that Possibly this sentence may be a “plan” to deal with the growing threat of the AfD.
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It is important to note that three of the party’s regional branches – in the eastern states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia – are classified as “confirmed” extremist organizations, given their repeated attempts to undermine democracy and their anti-immigration speeches.
A few days ago, the debate among its members about a mass deportation plan spread. This information generated the immediate rejection of thousands of people who went out to march to oppose this type of position.
Nancy Faeser, Minister of the Interior in Germany, assured that right-wing extremism is the greatest extremist threat to democracy and the citizens of Germany. She also pointed out that withdrawing public financing from these types of parties is “another instrument” to defend democracy.
In Germany, any party that obtains at least 0.5% in national or European elections, or 1% in regional elections, can obtain this benefit.
Although in the case of Homeland, its support in recent years was not enough to receive public funds, it benefited from tax advantages such as exemption from donations.
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Just as from several points of view, withdrawing funding is urgent, there are references who warn that these attempts can give the AfD arguments to start an anti-system campaign.
They believe that the parties of the “democratic center” should not try to appear as if they are using institutional tools “to defend themselves against unwanted competition,” Lindner said.
In 2019, a request to exclude Patria from state financing had already been made by the German Government, together with the upper and lower houses of the German Parliament.
In addition, in 2017 there was also an attempt to directly ban the party. But the request was rejected because the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe said the NPD was “not a real enough threat to be banned.” Subsequently, The Constitution was modified to enable the option of withdrawing state funds.