Germanist called plans to ban the AdG party an attempt to shake its ratings

The intention of a cross-party group of Bundestag members to ban the far-right Alternative for Germany (AdG) party may be an attempt to shake its ratings. Only the constitutional court of the Federal Republic of Germany can ban it. This was stated to "Izvestia" on January 21 by historian, political scientist and Germanist Evgenia Pimenova.

On the corresponding plans of deputies on the eve reported the newspaper Zeit. According to the newspaper, the initiators of discussions on the ban of the AdG believe that this political force allegedly actively acts against the free democratic orderin Germany.

"One way or another, the discussion about the ban is part of the election struggle. Perhaps behind it is the idea of slightly lowering the AdG's rating among 'wavering' voters. <...> It is worth noting that the item on banning the AdG was put on the agenda of the Bundestag meeting by a separate parliamentary group, not a faction of any party. The ban itself can only be imposed by the constitutional court of the FRG," Pimenova commented.

She noted that despite the fact that, according to the latest German media reports, more than a hundred parliamentarians may support this idea, the leadership of the key parties - the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) - are still skeptical. Thus, the leaders of SPD and CDU - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and candidate for this post Friedrich Merz - believe that the ban of the AdG would be politically shortsighted, as the party has a high percentage of support of the population - 20%. In fact, the expert believes that this measure would be a slap in the face to the voters.

In addition, banning the AdG could cause an even greater split in German society and even increase the party's popularity as a "victim," the newspaper's interlocutor said. The situation around the AdG has become even more complicated after it was openly supported by American billionaire Ilon Musk, Pimenova added.

"About a possible ban of the AdG is talking for quite a long time: the more the party's ratings grow, the more often it is accused of right-wing extremism, historical revisionism and so on. Earlier, a number of prominent German lawyers expressed their support for the idea of banning the party in an open letter, and there are also groups of civil activists agitating for the termination of the Alternative's activities," the political scientist said.

Earlier, on January 19, the Bild newspaper published the results of a poll by the INSA public opinion institute, according to which 57% of Germans believe that the conservative bloc of the Christian Democratic and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) will win the early elections to the Bundestag scheduled for February 23, 2025, while 17% are confident in the victory of the AdG.

The head of the AdG in Thuringia, Björn Höcke, said on January 14 that Germany needs to change its political course and more and more people realize that the old political line can no longer be supported.

At the same time, on December 16, the Bundestag revoked the confidence of the Scholz government. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier then approved February 23, 2025 as a possible date for early parliamentary elections