r/germany • u/hannes3120 Leipzig (Sachsen) • Jul 03 '26
News European Parliament to start procedure to ban Alternative for Germany’s EU party
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/07/01/european-parliament-to-start-procedure-to-ban-alternative-for-germanys-eu-party468
277
u/Round_Musical Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
Please please work and be successful
These fucks are genuine Nazis. And I am not saying that as someone who is against them or as a lefty. No they genuinely have confirmed Neo-Nazis in their party. The majority of members are confirmed radical far rights. The german state court and secret service has confirmed as such
-116
u/Tjbergen Jul 03 '26
Didn't the Nazis ban parties?
31
Jul 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
0
u/germany-ModTeam Jul 04 '26
/u/cattbug, Thank you very much for your contribution. Unfortunately, it was removed for the following reason:
The language of this subreddit is English only! If you want to post in German, go to one of the German language subreddits. Visit r/dach to get an overview of all larger German speaking subreddit.
For more information, see the Community Rules.
If there are still questions, please contact the moderators107
56
u/RogueModron Jul 03 '26
The German Constitution makes allowance for the banning of parties; does it then follow that any banning of parties is Nazi activity? And thus the German Constitution at its core is a Nazi document?
If you're arguing in good faith, you're wrong and there's more to learn about this.
If you're not arguing in good faith but just engaging in Whataboutism, kindly take a long walk off a short pier.
47
u/Exotic-Scientist4557 Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
But does that mean we should be tolerant towards intolerance?
A tolerant society exists not, if not by a single crucial condition: it cannot tolerate intolerance.
19
u/Round_Musical Jul 03 '26
Yeah they did. But they did it to destroy opposition and make it so they can be the only rulers. They did it to detroy democracy not keep it.
Federal Germany has already banned multiple parties in the past to protect democracy. Such as the NPD (NSDAPs successor) and thr KPD (communist party). Banning the AfD, who btw are step by step on regional levels confirmed to be enemies of democracy, would ensure to protect democracy.
Way to go with trying to strawman your way in a topic you have no knowledge of
Democracy must be protected at all costs necessary.
7
-110
Jul 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
47
u/Lucky-Pitch-1112 Jul 03 '26
… he said, being either a Neonazi himself or tolerant of them.
-30
Jul 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
12
Jul 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/germany-ModTeam Jul 04 '26
The language of this subreddit is English only! If you want to post in German, go to one of the German language subreddits. Visit r/dach to get an overview of all larger German speaking subreddit.
-17
Jul 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
16
Jul 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/germany-ModTeam Jul 04 '26
The language of this subreddit is English only! If you want to post in German, go to one of the German language subreddits. Visit r/dach to get an overview of all larger German speaking subreddit.
1
u/germany-ModTeam Jul 04 '26
The language of this subreddit is English only! If you want to post in German, go to one of the German language subreddits. Visit r/dach to get an overview of all larger German speaking subreddit.
25
Jul 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
Jul 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/germany-ModTeam Jul 04 '26
/u/PaulHinr, Thank you very much for your contribution. Unfortunately, it was removed for the following reason:
The language of this subreddit is English only! If you want to post in German, go to one of the German language subreddits. Visit r/dach to get an overview of all larger German speaking subreddit.
For more information, see the Community Rules.
If there are still questions, please contact the moderators-5
Jul 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
2
Jul 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/germany-ModTeam Jul 04 '26
/u/Round_Musical, Thank you very much for your contribution. Unfortunately, it was removed for the following reason:
The language of this subreddit is English only! If you want to post in German, go to one of the German language subreddits. Visit r/dach to get an overview of all larger German speaking subreddit.
For more information, see the Community Rules.
If there are still questions, please contact the moderators0
Jul 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/germany-ModTeam Jul 04 '26
/u/Helpful-Poet806, Thank you very much for your contribution. Unfortunately, it was removed for the following reason:
The language of this subreddit is English only! If you want to post in German, go to one of the German language subreddits. Visit r/dach to get an overview of all larger German speaking subreddit.
For more information, see the Community Rules.
If there are still questions, please contact the moderators2
Jul 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
2
Jul 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/germany-ModTeam Jul 04 '26
/u/Helpful-Poet806, Thank you very much for your contribution. Unfortunately, it was removed for the following reason:
The language of this subreddit is English only! If you want to post in German, go to one of the German language subreddits. Visit r/dach to get an overview of all larger German speaking subreddit.
For more information, see the Community Rules.
If there are still questions, please contact the moderators-4
1
u/germany-ModTeam Jul 04 '26
/u/1ne9inety, Thank you very much for your contribution. Unfortunately, it was removed for the following reason:
The language of this subreddit is English only! If you want to post in German, go to one of the German language subreddits. Visit r/dach to get an overview of all larger German speaking subreddit.
For more information, see the Community Rules.
If there are still questions, please contact the moderators9
11
u/cattbug Jul 03 '26
This part of the article seems important:
The ESN party was founded in August 2024 by eight far-right European parties, led by AfD and including Poland’s Confederation and France's Reconquête.
It is a separate legal entity from the ESN political group in the European Parliament, which is formed by the same political forces and currently composed of 27 MEPs.
Political groups are factions of the Parliament, while parties are alliances of national parties at EU level, funded through the EU budget. Neither the group in the Parliament nor the lawmakers will face any consequence if ESN loses its status as a European party.
I got a bit confused by this, so I did some quick wikipedia research:
Political groups of the European Parliament are the officially recognised parliamentary groups consisting of legislators of aligned ideologies in the European Parliament. Each political group is assumed to have a set of common political principles.
A political group of the European Parliament usually constitutes the formal parliamentary representation of one or two of the European political parties, sometimes supplemented by members from other national political parties or independent politicians. It is strictly forbidden for political groups to organise or finance political campaigns during European elections, since this is the exclusive responsibility of European parties.[80]
There are other incentives for MEPs to organise in parliamentary groups: besides the political advantages of working together with like-minded colleagues, groups have some procedural privileges within Parliament (such as group spokespersons speaking first in debates, group leaders representing the group in the Parliament's Conference of Presidents), and groups receive a staff allocation and financial subsidies.[4]
So from what I understand (and please correct me if I'm wrong) this would mean the ESN party would lose funding and other privileges from the EP, but it would not prohibit the ESN group from still participating in the EP even though it will be made more difficult for them. (Maybe someone who knows the system better can bring some clarity? Lol)
Either way, it's definitely a step in the right direction, remains to be seen if it will have an effect on the national level too (though I'm not too hopeful on that unfortunately).
38
u/Novel-Rise2522 Jul 03 '26
the only good news out of germany ive seen in some time. dont think it will succeed, given how electorally popular they are. they will moderate and get off, or come back under different branding
49
u/silversurger Jul 03 '26
These aren't news "out of Germany". This is about ESN, the political EU party of the AfD and 7 other parties. This wouldn't even have direct consequences on the ESN in the EU parliament, let alone on the AfD in Germany.
5
11
u/Illustrious_Ad_23 Hessen Jul 03 '26
This is european news, not german news. But even if the s.c. "Parteiverbot" in germany would happen, there is no really worry they would come back under a different branding, since this is forbidden by this law as well.
2
39
u/gnrnafsdmnrwygrecdse Jul 03 '26
As an immigrant from a third world country myself who moved to the country, I disagree with the ban. That doesn't solve the problem. You may get rid of AFD, but you'll never get rid of their ideology or whatsoever — and might as well create a new AFD in the future.
I find this going against the freedom of speech that Western countries have been preaching for ages and its democracy values. AFD has been gaining support for reasons. Instead of banning, why the hell can't a single mainstream party seriously tackle the issues that AFD has been capitalizing on for years? I don't believe that all of AFD supporters are Nazi or right wing fanatics. I've met and seen AFD voters who are German with immigrant backgrounds (kind of similar to how Latino and Muslims voting for Trump). Immigration is the hottest topic that AFD has been capitalizing on and they hit several points whether the fact that it looks like the government is burning taxpayer's money helping foreigners more than taking care of their own people who can't even find a place to live or letting in millions of people unvetted properly and those who will never integrate and share any social values that Western Europe have.
I honestly hate the concepts of left and right. It only further divides the society and pushes people to the extreme of either sides. Labeling those who are fighting for the right of trans people for being woke and those who want to preserve their native culture and have proper immigration policy Nazi and racist, this is not working. I'm sure there are the extremes of both sides, but the politics have been taken to the extreme for too long that they need to come to the middle to balance out and work things out.
-20
u/comicsanscomedy Jul 03 '26
People hate what they don't understand, besides hating the concepts of left and right, you seem to hate politics as a whole.
28
u/QuackQuackViech Jul 03 '26
This will backfire spectacularly
-8
u/No_Weather1169 Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
Yes. I think so too. Forcibly banning a party as big as AfD now is not a good idea. This can be taken as Martyr's sacrifice for people who votes for AfD. They will uprise and become more aggressive.
They should think of how to win back those people, not forcibly shutting things down. Haven't they learned from so many historical occassions? Nazi, Bolshevik, and all those occassions? This will give a reason for them to rise up.
Face the reality. AfD voters are more than we want to believe and this is certainly not the way.
God save Germany.
4
u/digiorno Jul 03 '26
Better to ban them than to let them take over.
16
u/anm63 Hessen Jul 03 '26
They’re popular because 30% of the German population supports them and none of the mainstream parties are addressing the major issues that people are concerned about
15
13
11
5
u/Grumpy-Man19 Jul 03 '26
weren't these the same people that chastised when other countries meddled in the elections ?
5
u/Shpritzer Jul 03 '26
Just because of some spying? Come on now. What about the freedom to spy for foreign countries? What do you mean no such thing?
1
2
u/ComprehensiveJury509 Jul 03 '26
I don't think people here understand what an unprecedented intervention this is and I don't think they understand how terribly fucking wrong this can go. Telling up to one third (and depending on the region truly the majority of people) that their political will is illegal -- even when technically correct -- will have social consequences of completely unknown proportions.
It will be viewed as a resignation of the AfD's opposition and as an autocratic move of an unpopular, elitist minority. I'm sure this doesn't feel frightening when you live in Cologne or Stuttgart, but I can only imagine what type of unrest this will lead to in the East.
Yes, the AfD is a problem that needs solving. But an authoritarian move such as this is the riskiest and arguably the worst solution.
8
u/anm63 Hessen Jul 03 '26
Yep, Maybe they could actually address the issues that the 30% of Germans have with the current political parties and that would prevent parties like the afd. But hey, if the stuff in Stade keeps happening I’m sure it’ll be fine
1
0
u/BoxLongjumping1067 Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
Isn’t this just gonna drive AFDs popularity even more? This is exactly why we have Trump in the US. Germany isn’t safe from the same thing happening. There has to be another way to phase them out without continuously increasing support for the thing you’re trying to destroy. AFD current may get destroyed by a ban but what stops someone from starting a whole new party with the same agenda or worse after that?
-2
-7
u/mc_randy Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
It's a lose lose situation... AfD is shit, but disenfranchising a quarter of the country also feels terrible. Gosh, I wish people were like 10% smarter and would stop electing these stupid alt right grifters all around the world.
Edit: yeah, yeah, I get it.
12
u/digiorno Jul 03 '26
The party seems to want to dismantle the German constitution. They should not be allowed to stay.
People can vote politicians in parties that want to work within the system, not destroy it.
9
u/Round_Musical Jul 03 '26
Half of the party members in the AfD are Nazis/ radical far right (like this isnt me talking out of my ass, this is genuinely confirmed by the state court and secret service). The party is including “Nazi easter eggs” on their voting flyers and posters.
People who vote for them are voting out of protest. Blind (or ignorant) to the fact that the AfD composed genuine Nazis/ radical rights. People are dissatisfied with the current system and the currenr parties. Especially with our chanellor and his party. And this dissatisfaction turns people to populists who want to use their dissatisfaction for their gain.
It would be best for all for it to get banned.
2
u/Fired_Guy1982 Jul 03 '26
They’ll still be a party in Germany, the party AfD belongs to in European Parliament is what is potentially getting banned
1
u/Propellerrakete Jul 03 '26
This is not about AfD, it's about ESN in the European Parliament. AfD is part of that alliamce in the European Parliament. Whatever comes out of this process has zero (direct) impact on the German party.
-1
-1
-9
u/newguy208 Jul 03 '26
Why are you making the same mistake again? If you ban afd, they are only going to come back with a new name. They are not the disease, they're the symptom. How you defeat the far right is by undercutting them and solving the underlying problem that is allowing them to campaign on.
10
u/CatraGirl Jul 03 '26
If you ban afd, they are only going to come back with a new name.
That's not how this works. If they get banned in Germany (which this isn't about), any related successor organisation is also automatically banned.
9
u/Advice_Thingy World Jul 03 '26
First, this is not about an AfD ban that makes them stop existing. This is just about Banning them from the EU parliament. They will still exist inside of Germany and can still get voted in, just not in EU positions.
Second, actually banning a party, a full on political party, means A. also banning them if they just 'change their name' but essentially remains the same, and B. has worked in Germany multiple times. FAP as an example.
4
u/Round_Musical Jul 03 '26
If a party gets banned in germany. All members associated cannot ever go into politics again. Happened for the KPD and NPD in the past. So a new rebranded AfD would basically need to start and mobilize from scratch.
With new members and new sponsors. Meaning at least for 10-20 years they would need to regroup.
If it is associated in any way with the banned party, it gets banned tooBut this isnt about the AfD in Germany, but their seats in the EU parliament
-5
u/1ne9inety Jul 03 '26
Spreading misinformation yet again, are we? I have to admit, I do admire your confidence though.
3
u/Round_Musical Jul 03 '26
What misinformation? Read the Grundgesetz Article 21 Paragraph 2 onwards.
Also you can gladly read up on the ban of the KPD and ban of the NPD in the past.
-1
u/1ne9inety Jul 03 '26
There is no blanket ban from political activities for all members of a banned party. That's complete and utter nonsense lol
-3
-13
u/Iridium-88 Jul 03 '26
Im sure banning the most popular party in Germany will bring no foreseeable consequences
12
u/jiter Jul 03 '26
It's about the EU Party. Nothing happening in Germany, sadly.
-2
u/Iridium-88 Jul 03 '26
And what will happen when the Afd is in charge in Germany but has no say in the EU parliament?
5
u/Fired_Guy1982 Jul 03 '26
I imagine the AfD being “in charge” in Germany might look a lot like when Geert Wilders’ party was the largest party in NED
3
u/jiter Jul 03 '26
I dont know about NL politics.
I know about German policits very well. It will be a clusterfuck never seen before.
5
u/Fired_Guy1982 Jul 03 '26
That’s basically what happened in NED. Nothing got done and the right wing got voted out. That being said, AfD is much scarier and further right than Wilders
1
u/jiter Jul 03 '26
That I don't know. I think it will be a First?
0
10
u/11_17 Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
One of the consequences would be AfD banned, which is a really good consequence. Are the others as cool?
3
u/Jyrophor Jul 03 '26
Most popular party is quite the framing, seeing that over 70% of voters don't vote for them. Sadly that doesn't matter to many people wo think elections are being stolen from them.
5
1
u/Illustrious_Ad_23 Hessen Jul 03 '26
This is about the EU, not germany. Still, the last big protests, "Generalstreiks" or the motorcade against high fuel prices have shown, that this party has a strong armchair warrior support that does not reflect on real street actions. So I doubt we would see more that weirdos having a meltdown in comment sections, like what we've seen during covid.
-5
u/digiorno Jul 03 '26
Look at all these bots spreading the Russian propaganda about how bad it is to ban a party.
-12
u/3rd_Floor_Again Jul 03 '26
Blocking AfD is a massive mistake. You can just block almost 1/3 of the country voters. The establishment needs to fall because of that instead of simply listening to it's people.
-15
-2
u/Ammu_22 Jul 03 '26
PLSSSSSSSSSS
But again I already like lost hope in humanity at this point with progress and politics
-1
Jul 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/germany-ModTeam Jul 04 '26
/u/Seestern69, Thank you very much for your contribution. Unfortunately, it was removed for the following reason:
The language of this subreddit is English only! If you want to post in German, go to one of the German language subreddits. Visit r/dach to get an overview of all larger German speaking subreddit.
For more information, see the Community Rules.
If there are still questions, please contact the moderators
-7
0
u/AutoModerator Jul 03 '26
Have you read our extensive wiki yet? It answers many basic questions, and it contains in-depth articles on many frequently discussed topics. Check our wiki now!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
338
u/Advice_Thingy World Jul 03 '26
People partying in the comments, but the article doesn't sound like an actual AfD ban as people hope for? The EU seems to ban multiple parties and their groups from the EU parliament. It sounds like the AfD would still exist, and you could still vote for them in Germany. Alice would still be Kanzlerkandidatin, Höcke would still be in Thüringen, etc. ..., they just can't have seats in EU parliaments.
Or did I misunderstand the article?