Christian Democrat Minister Calls for Possible ‘Last Resort’ Ban of AfD in Germany

A Christian Democratic Union politician who is viewed as a possible successor to Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, says the government should launch an investigation into whether to ban Alternative for Germany after the far-right party won 44 percent of the vote Sunday in a state election in Saxony-Anhalt.The minister-president of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst, who also serves as a state chairman of the Christian Democratic Union, warned against “hasty actions” but says an open-ended examination of the AfD party is needed. “Banning a party can only be the last resort to protect our constitution. Therefore, we should now establish a federal-state working group on the constitutional handling of the AfD and any potential legal consequences,” Mr. Wüst said in a statement shared on X.“It is ultimately about the question of how the state is to deal with a party, constitutionally speaking, that pursues at least in individual federal states goals hostile to the constitution,” Mr. Wüst added.The Christian Democrats took just 17 percent of the vote on Sunday in the state that it had previously led. AfD is just three seats short of a majority in the 83-seat Saxony-Anhalt state parliament. The AfD’s chief candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, will need to identify a coalition partner that would allow him to be elected as the governor of the state, though no other party has signaled interest in partnering with the far-right leader. No far-right party has won a state election since World War II.Days before the election, high-profile politicians in the Green Party and the center-left Social Democratic Party of Germany called for banning four branches of AfD. One of those is the Saxony-Anhalt branch, which national intelligence agencies have classified as a right-wing extremist movement.Mr. Merz has criticized AfD but has stopped short of suggesting a ban should be on the table. On Wednesday, Mr. Merz clashed with AfD leader Alice Weidel in the Bundestag, claiming her party is promoting “ethnic cleansing” with its migration policy. The AfD campaigned on the promise of “deportation and remigration” of migrants. Germany has seen 5.1 million immigrant arrivals in the past three years, 3.2 million from non-EU countries. Net migration is at 1.3 million during that timeframe, according to Germany’s Office of Statistics.Mr. Merz also accused the AfD of helping Russian efforts to destabilize Germany, including last month’s failed explosive drone attack at the Leipzig airport, which he blamed on Moscow. “There has been nothing from you, Mrs Weidel, on what happened,” Mr. Merz said. “You are part of the problem we have here in Germany,”Ms. Weidel said the days of Mr. Merz’s coalition “are over,” and Germans are tired of failed immigration policy. “German citizens have to live with the daily consequences of mass migration, with knife violence every day, attacks on trains and in stations, with rundown and threatening cityscapes,” Ms. Weidel said.Mr. Merz’s support has plummeted since he took office as part of a coalition with the Social Democrats. He was heckled Wednesday by members of the AfD as he spoke to parliament.After the election, Ms. Weidel said she expected Mr. Merz to be ousted “before Christmas.”Any move to ban AfD in Germany could draw the ire of the Trump administration, which has expressed support for the party. President Trump, on Tuesday, praised AfD’s election showing. “They finally got tired of the absolutely horrible Immigration rules and regulations which have hurt Germany so badly,” Mr. Trump said in a Truth Social post. Vice President Vance has also voiced support for the party.Mr. Merz postponed a planned phone call with Mr. Trump on Wednesday, scheduled ahead of the 25th commemoration of the September 11, 2001, attacks but also amid the Republican midterm convention at Dallas. Mr. Merz’s office would not confirm the president’s post was the reason for the delay. A spokesman simply told German news outlet Bild that Mr. Merz has always objected “in general terms” to “interfering in or commenting on the domestic political situation, particularly regarding elections.”AfD’s victory in Germany could become a template for future elections in Europe. France is holding a presidential election next year. A rightist, Marine Le Pen, holds a big lead in pre-election polls. Voters are also due to go to the polls in two other countries next year. In Spain, support for the far-right party Vox is surging, and in Italy, a new hard-right, nationalist party called National Future is gaining support.

Christian Democrat Minister Calls for Possible ‘Last Resort’ Ban of AfD in Germany

Christian Democrat Minister Calls for Possible ‘Last Resort’ Ban of AfD in Germany

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