Thuringia’s Interior Minister is calling for a renewed focus on potential treasonous activity within teh Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as grounds for a possible ban, alleging the party is acting as an intelligence conduit for authoritarian states, including Russia. The push comes amid heightened scrutiny of the AfD’s foreign ties and follows accusations of deliberately undermining German infrastructure through parliamentary inquiries.
The allegations, made by Interior Minister Georg Maier too the Handelsblatt, center on what he describes as “close contacts” between numerous AfD politicians and authoritarian regimes. Maier contends these connections raise the strong suspicion that security-relevant data is being leaked,warranting a deeper investigation into a ”landesverräterischen Aspekt” – a treasonous element – within any potential legal proceedings to outlaw the party.
Bernd Baumann, the AfD’s first parliamentary managing director, dismissed Maier’s claims as “irrational accusations.” Baumann argued the AfD is simply exposing failures in Germany’s infrastructure, failures he attributes to decades of neglect by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).He maintained the party’s parliamentary inquiries are conducted in the public interest.
maier’s statements escalate the debate surrounding a possible ban of the AfD, which has faced increasing criticism for its far-right ideology and alleged ties to extremist groups.The German government is currently assessing whether the AfD’s activities meet the legal threshold for a constitutional ban, a process that requires demonstrating a clear and present danger to the democratic order. The inclusion of treason as a central argument could substantially strengthen the case for prohibition.
