German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Baden-Württemberg Governor Cem Özdemir have called for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) to be outlawed, arguing that the country’s largest opposition party “threatens” Germany’s constitutional order.
Writing in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the left-wing globalist SPD and Green politicians accused elements of the AfD of promoting ethnic nationalism and “remigration,” while also criticising its positions on Russia, NATO, the EU and the euro.
They argued that conventional political debate is insufficient to counter what they regard as an increasingly radical movement and said a constitutional review of the party is justified.
The intervention comes as the AfD enjoys support of around 28% in recent polling, ahead of the governing CDU/CSU bloc on about 20%. Germany’s domestic intelligence service currently designates the AfD as a suspected right-wing extremist organisation, allowing authorities to subject the party and its members to surveillance.
