@mrundkvist @martin_ueding well yes, the Verfassungsschutz is tasked with blowing the whistle. It has done so even though it is notorious for being focused on left extremism and blind for right extremism.
However, nobody is obliged to act upon the whistle. Merz (and also the social democrats) keep saying that you have to defeat them politically, not using the courts.
@philippbirken @mrundkvist
The BfV (domestic intelligence) classified parts of the party as "proven far-right extremist." However, this assessment is currently under appeal and is therefore not yet legally binding.
The govm't argument against tasking the Federal Constitutional Court with party ban proceedings is that it might fail, essentially giving the party a stamp of approval as non-extremist. It would also take years, allowing the party to play the victim card even further.
@martin_ueding
Is this problem specific to AfD or a general feature of the German constitution?
@mrundkvist
I know of one prior case. They tried to ban the "National Party of Germany" (NPD) and the court didn't make the party illegal. The reasoning was that the party was then already meaningless and hence didn't need to make illegal as it didn't pose a threat.
With AfD being voted for much more, this won't be an issue. But the concern is that the voters will still be there and might choose aggressive alternatives to vent their frustration with governing parties.
@martin_ueding
Yeah, that's kind of my point. The German constitution does not say "Nazi parties are OK here if they are scary and threatening".
@mrundkvist
The German constitution says that unconstitutional parties can be banned. "Can," not "must." There is no automatic mechanism that will trigger a process that could lead to a ban.
The conservative politicians in power don't want to trigger the judical process, rather they want to "fight politically."
In one state, there were more parliament votes for the AfD candidate than announced. This suggests that other parties sympathize with AfD, which would also explain hesitance on a ban.