In 2024, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) achieved several electoral successes at local, state and European level. Numerous scandals, right-wing extremist tendencies and legal disputes surrounding the party have done little to change this. Nevertheless, this popularity among voters cannot hide negative developments the party faces.
In the European Parliament, the AfD was unable to form a parliamentary group with the other major far-right parties. The formation of a joint parliamentary group failed due to their resistance to the AfD and its lead candidate. Although the party convention in Essen at the end of June 2024 was largely harmonious overall, no major structural decisions were made. The controversial foreign activities of AfD representatives along with their Russia-friendly foreign policy positions have frequently drawn criticism.
Numerous defeats in court have also confirmed the classification of the AfD or individual party branches at state level as suspected or confirmed right-wing extremist by the German domestic intelligence services. Accordingly, there are factual indications that the AfD pursues activities that are aimed against the liberal democratic order and the human dignity of certain groups. In this context, the cross-connections of AfD representatives to right-wing extremist circles, some of which are prepared to use violence, are also striking. More than one hundred members of the German Bundestag have backed a motion for a potential party ban procedure against the AfD.
The constitutional violation during the opening session of the Thuringian state parliament on 26th September 2024, at which the president by seniority, Jürgen Treutler, an AfD member of Parliament, disregarded the rights of members of parliament within the framework of the parliament's right to self-organization, has further fuelled this debate. Here too, a court had to show the AfD the constitutional limits. The AfD is reacting to this development by - following the already well-known fundamental criticism of parties and the media – now increasingly spreading doubts about the independent judicial system through AfD representatives. With buzzwords such as “show trial” and “unjust verdict”, another pillar of the democratic constitutional state is being targeted verbally.
