Another Day, Another AfD Ban

 Another Day, Another AfD Ban | Today on EuroCon

 

 

Tuesday 11 November

Driving the day... 

Another day, another threat to ban the Alternative for Germany (AfD). Last weekend, German federal president Frank-Walter Steinmeier gave a speech that indirectly accused the AfD—the second-largest party in the Budestag—of extremism, antisemitism, and threatening the democratic order. Such parties, Steinmeier argued, must be banned. 

This is the argument that has regularly been made by the German political establishment—that the state should outlaw the right-wing party in order to ‘save’ democracy. Thankfully, this time, politicians outside the AfD are speaking out against this authoritarian move. The Free Democrats’ Wolfgang Kubicki told the media that Steinmeier’s suggestion that the AfD was at all similar to the Nazis was "inappropriate," “ahistorical,” and an “outrage.” Sahra Wagenknecht of the left-populist BSW similarly accused the president of “political stupidity.” 

It’s positive that more mainstream political figures are recognising the idiocy of banning the AfD. This is a party that performed astonishingly well in the last elections and continues to dominate the polls. As much as Germany’s managerial state would like it to be the case, you cannot simply outlaw a party because you disagree with its beliefs. And, ironically, threatening to do so is only likely to bolster the AfD’s popularity. Criminalising your opponent does not mean you win the argument.   

By Lauren Smith

https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/steinmeier-berates-afd-speaks-of-ban-backlash-gift-to-afd/?mc_cid=83e7967e14&mc_eid=3cbf6e7152

The federal president was trying to damage the AfD, but is likely to have bolstered the party’s support instead.

• Michael Curzon
• — November 11, 2025

Even Non-AfD Officials Agree Steinmeier’s Allusion to a Ban Is Ridiculous

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier gives a speech on the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin on November 9, 2025.

Maryam Majd / POOL / AFP

AfD officials have, of course, been up in arms about the German federal president’s use of the significant November 9th speech to accuse the ever-rising opposition of extremism, antisemitism, and of wanting to overthrow the democratic order. The party’s Bremen branch has, for example, berated Frank-Walter Steinmeier for his “political instrumentalisation of the office,” which is supposed to be impartial and to represent the “nation’s conscience” (yeah, right!).

But it has been impressive to see plenty of figures outside the party—including a good handful of its opponents—also come out against Steinmeier’s incendiary remarks.

Not least among these has been FDP (Free Democratic Party) politician Wolfgang Kubicki, who told broadcasters that the president’s allusions to alleged similarities between the AfD and the Nazis, no less, were not only “inappropriate,” but also “ahistorical” and an “outrage.”

Sahra Wagenknecht of the left-nationalist BSW also accused Steinmeier of “political stupidity,” although she did argue that “this is not abuse of office.” Wagenknecht said the ‘firewall’ policy preventing establishment cooperation with the AfD had done nothing to improve Germany’s political situation and has actually helped the party to grow.

That should have reached even the federal president.

Instead, he seems to believe that an outright ban is the only way forward.

Journalist Nena Brockhaus described this as “a slap in the face to every AfD voter,” but added that such divisive rhetoric will actually further help the opposition in the long run.

Instead of bringing people together, Steinmeier is banking on division. The speech was a Christmas present to the AfD, which can now once again assume the victim role.

Not that the president’s speech garnered no support. Green Party officials predictably hailed his comments as “absolutely right” because “there must be no cooperation with right-wing extremists under any circumstances!”

But on the whole, even mainstream figures appear to be getting their heads around the fact that more and more voters are putting their faith in the AfD, and that attempts to do the party down often have the opposite effect.

Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.

• Tags: AfD, AfD ban, Berlin Wall, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German federal president, Michael Curzon, Sahra Wagenknecht, Wolfgang Kubicki