The premier of Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst, has called for consideration of banning the "Alternative for Germany" party. (AfG), days after the far-right party achieved a landslide victory in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, DPA reported, BTA reported.
Wust said today that a working group of representatives of Germany's 16 states and the federal government should examine the constitutional options for banning the AfG.
"I warn against hasty action regarding a possible ban on the AfG, because banning a political party can only be a last resort if we want to protect our constitution," said Wust, who is a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
"There must now be a structure in which these issues are examined carefully, professionally and seriously by the federal government and the state governments," he added. "The main question is how the state can approach a party that pursues unconstitutional goals, at least in some individual states, in a constitutional way," added Wüst.
Under German law, political parties can be banned by the Federal Constitutional Court, but only after receiving an official petition to do so from one of the two houses of parliament or from the government.
Last year, domestic intelligence services classified the AfD as "proven" extremist organization, although the classification was temporarily lifted pending the conclusion of a court case against it.
Several of the party's local branches in eastern Germany have been given this classification, allowing authorities to place them under surveillance.
This includes Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD fell just short of winning an absolute majority in the regional parliament in Sunday's elections, but could still lead a minority government after winning 43.8% of the vote.