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Former Constitutional Court Chiefs Split on AfD Threat as 2026 State Votes Loom

The disagreement underscores that any response must reckon with strict constitutional thresholds.

Overview

  • Andreas Voßkuhle warned that cooperating with the AfD would be like “going to bed with the devil” and said the party lacks the DNA of a pluralist democracy.
  • Voßkuhle cautioned that an AfD state premier could reshape institutions, from school curricula to the judiciary and law enforcement, with national knock‑on effects.
  • Udo Di Fabio urged against branding the AfD a Nazi party and said a ban would be premature, emphasizing that any AfD government would still be bound by law.
  • The domestic intelligence service’s planned classification of the AfD as a confirmed right‑wing extremist endeavor remains suspended due to the party’s legal challenge, while a federal‑state working group on handling the AfD is in place.
  • Polls put the AfD at roughly 25–26 percent nationally and leading in Saxony‑Anhalt and Mecklenburg‑Western Pomerania ahead of 2026 state elections that could set influential precedents.