Overview
- A public hearing in the Thuringian Landtag on Wednesday convened constitutional lawyers, experts and public figures to publicly debate whether evidence exists to justify a party‑ban procedure against the AfD.
- The hearing followed motions from Die Linke and parallel resolutions in regional parliaments such as Hamburg that call for a Bund‑Länder working group to compile Verfassungsschutz findings, legal studies and election data for possible use at the Bundesverfassungsgericht.
- Thuringian Interior Minister Georg Maier said Bundesrat majorities are 'sorting' toward action and expects the working group to be formed this year, signaling a move from experts’ reports to coordinated federal‑state fact‑finding.
- Legal voices were split at the hearing: some jurists argued the AfD’s rhetoric and actions meet the high constitutional threshold for danger to the democratic order, while defense lawyers warned that an uncertain or failed procedure would raise legal and political risks for democracy.
- Any formal case can only be filed by the Bundestag, the Bundesrat or the Bundesregierung and, if submitted, would likely become a years‑long Bundesverfassungsgericht proceeding with outcomes ranging from a full ban to partial sanctions or a court finding without prohibition.