Berlin (epd). Hamburg’s Interior Senator Andy Grote (SPD) has expressed skepticism about calls for a ban on the AfD. “A party ban is the last resort and not a substitute for politicians,” said Grote, who is the spokesman for the SPD-governed states in the Interior Ministers’ Conference, to the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” (Sunday). Right-wing ideas must be countered in political debate, he added.
It is important that all democratic parties agree and “refuse any cooperation with extremists,” said the Interior Senator. At the same time, it is about “strengthening the resilience of democracy and its institutions.” Grote: “We have to review the protective mechanisms that already exist. This concerns, among other things, the question of whether and how extremists who demonstrably pursue unconstitutional goals can be excluded from being elected to parliament and political office.”
“Right-wing extremism is the greatest threat to our democracy. But our democracy is strong and defensible,” emphasized the SPD politician. In this way, the constitutional protection authorities would be continuously strengthened.
In March, the Münster Higher Administrative Court will decide whether the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution was allowed to classify the AfD as a suspected case. The verdict is considered groundbreaking because it could theoretically be followed by the next classification of the AfD as definitely right-wing extremist.