If the AfD Can’t Be Beat, Ban It
After World War ii, the United States and Britain aimed to shape Germany into a peace-loving democratic nation. As a result, postwar Germany has a clause in its Basic Law aimed at preventing the rise of another Nazi party. It gives the Federal Constitutional Court authority to ban extremist parties.
That law could soon come into play.
German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil wrote in an article published on Wednesday that “it must be seriously examined” whether the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) meets “the conditions for a ban.”
A ban would not be unprecedented; it has happened twice since World War ii. First, the Socialist Reich Party in 1952; second, the Communist Party of Germany in 1956.
This time would be different, however, because the AfD isn’t a fringe political organization. It’s the most popular party in Germany. According to an April insa poll, 28 percent of Germans support the AfD. To put that into context, around 20 percent support the mainstream Christian Democratic Party.
Klingbeil’s comments are akin to U.S. Vice President JD Vance suggesting a ban of the Democratic Party.
If, according to Klingbeil, the AfD meets the conditions for a ban, banning it is “not only an option, but a democratic duty to protect our country.”
The AfD is poised to make big wins in next month’s state elections. That possibility scares more than just Klingbeil. Last month, 1,051 lawyers, clerks and judges signed a letter calling on the government to ban the party.
Why are they scared?
A review from the Society for Civil Rights linked to the petition claims, as Spiegel wrote, that the AfD violates “the principle of human dignity of Basic Law” and that it violates “the principle of democracy and is therefore unconstitutional.”
The AfD is generally viewed as far right. Germany’s national intelligence agency, the bfv, labeled it a right-wing extremist organization last year. One of its leading politicians approves the German soldiers’ actions throughout World War ii. Another leader said the Berlin Holocaust memorial was a “monument of shame.” One of the AfD’s biggest issues is its refusal to acknowledge the dark side of Germany’s history.
Again, this is the most popular party in the nation. As Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry warned as far back as 1991, “Germany was never denazified after World War ii.”
That being said, not all AfD supporters are neo-Nazis. Many are just in favor of closed borders and traditional values.
Germany’s leaders fear that the AfD, if it took power, would try to appease Russia. The Trumpet wrote on July 31 that Chancellor Friedrich Merz fears an “election victory of the [AfD] in two eastern German states could obstruct his party’s military plans designed to defend against a Russian invasion.”
This has prompted Merz to enact several measures to weaken any authority the AfD would have should it win in those state elections.
Democracy Will Die
The campaign against the AfD is an attempt to address the symptom. The AfD is popular because Germans want strong leadership. The people are upset about immigration and poor economic performance, and they’re scared of Russia.
To many, the AfD offers a solution to those problems, unlike the ruling coalition.
The desire from Germany’s leading, established parties to ban the AfD, and their refusal to work with it, shows the disconnect between the government and what the German public wants.
If the AfD is banned, who will fill that desire for strong leadership? Probably not the same leaders trying to ban the AfD. They’re trying to ban it because they know they’re unpopular.
That poses an opportunity for a leader who is strong yet seemingly moderate. A leader who can bridge the gap between what the people want while not seeming too extreme for the ruling parties.
The Trumpet has warned of a coming German strongman for decades. Daniel 8:23 prophesies of a “king of fierce countenance” arising in Germany in the end time.
As Mr. Flurry wrote in 2020, “The government is shaky, the need for strong leadership is clear—but the path to achieve it is unknown. This prophesied leader may well exploit this frustration and confusion by rallying a coalition behind him and vaunting himself to power.”
Banning the AfD would add to that frustration and confusion, increasing the opportunity of hijacking Germany’s and Europe’s political scene. Former German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, whom the Trumpet believes could be that leader, is watching the situation closely.
For more information, read A Strong German Leader Is Imminent.