German politicians revive calls to ban far-right AfD ahead of key vote

Two German political heavyweights on Friday called for "ethno-nationalist" branches of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) to be banned, just days before an election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt that could see the far-right party take power for the first time. 

In a joint article for the Sunday edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, from the centre-left Social Democrats, and Green veteran Cem Özdemir, the premier of the south-western state of Baden-Württemberg, revived calls for the anti-immigrant AfD to face legal restrictions in four eastern states.

"Based on our personal convictions, we once again urge that proceedings to ban the party be initiated as soon as possible, with a focus on the clearly ethno-nationalist state branches of the AfD in Thuringia, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg," the politicians wrote. 

Due to their anti-constitutional views, the AfD chapters in all four states are classified as "confirmed" right-wing extremist movements by intelligence agencies, allowing for the party to be monitored by authorities.

Nevertheless, the party has soared in popularity in recent years, benefiting from discontent with the political establishment in Berlin, and it is polling above 40% in Saxony-Anhalt ahead of the election on September 6.

All mainstream parties refuse to work with the AfD, a policy famously known as the "firewall," but successive governments have rejected calls for the party to be banned due to its extremist positions. 

Under German law, political parties can be banned by the Federal Constitutional Court, but only after receiving an official petition to do so by either house of parliament or the government.

In their article, Pistorius and Özdemir - two of the country's most popular politicians - insisted that the move to ban the AfD is "legally permissible, supported by evidence and required by the constitution."

"We are confident that the Federal Constitutional Court will make the right decisions independently and with full autonomy," the politicians added.

They also distinguished between a "German-nationalist" segment of the AfD, which they argued is compatible with the Basic Law, Germany's constitution, and the "ethno-nationalist" side of the party, which they suggested is opposed to democracy.