CNN pointed to increased calls for a ban on ADHD in Germany

Calls for a ban on the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party are gaining momentum in Germany, which won a record 20.8% of the vote in the February elections, becoming the largest opposition force in the Bundestag. This was reported on July 7 by CNN.

"The court may declare the party unconstitutional. The party will then be dissolved and banned from any political activity. She will also be prohibited from creating any substitute organizations," the publication says.

As CNN recalled, on July 1, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), which is part of the ruling coalition, unanimously voted to begin the process of banning ADHD. However, opinions are divided. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he was skeptical about party bans.

It clarifies that the legal procedure for banning a party in Germany is complex and has almost no precedent. This requires an appeal from the Government, the Bundestag or the Bundesrat to the Federal Constitutional Court, which must conduct a full trial, examine the evidence and hear the witnesses. If the party is declared unconstitutional, it is subject to complete dissolution, its political activities and the creation of replacement structures will be prohibited. At the same time, AFD deputies in the Bundestag and the European Parliament will automatically lose their mandates.

According to the article, in the history of Germany, the Constitutional Court has twice ruled on the prohibition of parties: in 1952 — the Socialist Reich Party, in 1956 — the Communist Party of Germany. Attempts to ban the neo-Nazi NDPG in 2003, 2016 and 2021 were unsuccessful.

According to sociologists, the level of support for the AFD has increased even more since the elections: in April, the Forsa Institute recorded a record 26%, which was ahead of the rating of Germany's ruling Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU). Now, according to the same data, the party is in second place with 24%.

The Welt newspaper reported on June 29 that after the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) at its congress supported the preparation of a court application to ban the right-wing Alternative for Germany party, the Green Party called for immediate practical measures.

On May 2, the Federal Office for the Protection of the German Constitution classified the AFD as a right-wing extremist organization that threatens democracy in the country. On May 5, the party filed a lawsuit against the federal agency for this decision. The Bild newspaper reported on May 8 that counterintelligence had temporarily suspended the definition of the party as right-wing extremist pending a court decision.