Latest news with #AliceWeidel
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
German far-right leader Weidel says Orbán is 'beacon of freedom'
Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, on Friday praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as a "beacon of freedom" during a conference held in Budapest. Addressing her audience in English, Weidel said: "The wind of change is blowing." Referring to a decision by Germany's domestic intelligence agency to classify her party, which took second place in the February elections, as extremist, Weidel said: "They spy on the opposition, to denounce the AfD as an enemy of the constitution, fabricating a pretext for outlawing our party." Weidel said to loud applause from the audience that moves to have the AfD banned by the German courts would not prevail. The intelligence agency has said it will refrain from classifying the AfD as "confirmed right-wing extremist" until a Cologne civil court has ruled on an urgent application from the party. The annual gathering in Budapest is linked to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in the United States. Orbán uses the event to promote networking between international right-wing organizations. A common thread is a favourable attitude towards Russia under President Vladimir Putin. This year the conference drew attendances from Herbert Kickl, head of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze. US President Donald Trump sent greetings by video.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
To ban or not to ban AfD? German democracy at a crossroads
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The news "hit Berlin like a bombshell", said Friederike Haupt in Frankfurter Allgemeine. After a year-long investigation, Germany's domestic intelligence agency has officially designated the Alternative for Germany (AfD) a right-wing extremist organisation, paving the way for the government to ban the second-largest party in the Bundestag. The AfD's open pitting of "real Germans" vs. "passport Germans", said the agency in a leaked 1,108-page dossier, violates the constitution by making "ethnic ancestry the definition of nationality". It also detected a "solidified xenophobic attitude" among AfD leaders, such as its co-chair Alice Weidel, who has railed against migrants "from [alien] cultures prone to violence... in Africa and the Middle East". You don't need "a magnifying glass to find extremist ideas in the AfD", said Marcus Rubin in Politiken (Copenhagen). It "openly advocates discrimination based on ethnicity, and numerous members have downplayed the Holocaust". One former leader called the genocide of six million Jews a "blip". Yet Germany's mainstream parties need "to defeat right-wing extremism at the ballot box, not in the courts", which would only damage faith in German democracy. The agency has now paused its designation pending a court ruling on the issue, said Hansjörg Friedrich Müller in the Aargauer Zeitung (Aarau), leaving new chancellor Friedrich Merz with a dilemma. The CDU leader can either ignore the calls for a ban, and "live with the accusation that he is taking the threat too lightly". Or he can initiate proceedings against the AfD, who now regularly top nationwide polls, and polarise an already deeply divided country. And it's only his first week in the job. A ban would be fruitless, said Michael Hanfeld in Frankfurter Allgemeine. It could take years; and even if we did eliminate the AfD, the issues that led to its rise won't "disappear" into thin air. As long as uncontrolled immigration exists, so will the far-right; "anything else is magical thinking". And remember, the "vast majority" of the AfD's supporters aren't Nazis, said Michalis Psilos in Naftemporiki (Athens). "They are citizens who no longer trust the ability or even the will of the traditional parties to solve the big problems." Germany's mainstream parties need to prove them wrong. If only things were that simple, said Stefanie Witte in Tagesspiegel (Berlin). It's an "illusion" to think that all we have to do is make better policies, "and voters will react rationally and objectively"; the anti-establishment feeling in today's politics is far too strong for that. Right now, Germany is hurtling down a very dangerous path. We're witnessing the rise of a party intent on destroying German democracy itself. The AfD has openly expressed "contempt for the rule of law, courts, democratic institutions and their representatives". If allowed into power, it will only be a matter of time before the German constitution "fails". The time for a ban "is now" – before it's too late. The impulse to do this is quite understandable, said Malte Lehming in the same paper. But how would that make us any different from the Nazis? They banned political parties, and removed fundamental rights. When we vowed "never again", those were some of the mistakes we vowed not to repeat. You've got to feel for Merz, said Clay Risen in The New York Times. He has already had an incredibly rocky start as chancellor: he needed two attempts to secure the votes for his approval, an unprecedented situation that has put a serious dent in his credibility. Now he faces a daily battle against the "politically toxic" AfD. As the leading opposition party in the Bundestag, they have the power to make his life a misery, and with a majority of just 12 members, Merz needs to work out how to offset their influence and push through his own agenda. "As parliament settles into a new, uncomfortable normal and as rifts inevitably open among the coalition", the temptation to work with the AfD will grow. Will Merz be able to resist?
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany's far-right AfD demands sympathy for Russian position
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has called for sympathy for Moscow's position as European leaders try to increase pressure on the Kremlin to agree to an end to the war in Ukraine. No sensible peace negotiations can take place "if Russia's security interests are not finally taken into account," AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said ahead of a parliamentary group meeting in Berlin. Weidel claimed that Russian security interests were what had been at stake for years in the region and they were all that was at stake for Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump now. She went on to say that the AfD had been stressing since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine "that Russia's security interests should finally be taken into account," echoing one of Russia's arguments used to justify the war. The anti-immigrant AfD emerged as the biggest opposition party from Germany's February elections. The party has repeatedly called for the resumption of Russian gas imports, which were halted in the wake of the war.
Time of India
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Fact check: Is Germany's AfD not right-wing extremist?
Photo: AP The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has filed a lawsuit against the German domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution ( BfV ), which recently labeled the far-right party as "confirmed right-wing extremist." On Thursday, the BfV complied with the AfD's request to follow a so-called "standstill commitment" (Stillhaltezusage). This means that the agency is putting its official reclassification of the AfD as a right-wing extremist party on hold. AfD leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla celebrated the news as a success. Claim: "This is a first important step toward our exoneration and toward countering the accusation of right-wing extremism ," the party said on X. The post added that the BfV has effectively "withdrawn" the party's classification as "confirmed right-wing extremist." Operation Sindoor Amid flare-up hours after thaw, officials say things will settle down with time Ceasefire on, but pressure stays: Key decisions by India against Pak that still stand 'Will work with India & Pakistan to seek solution on Kashmir': Trump DW fact check: False. The classification "confirmed right-wing extremist" was not withdrawn. The AfD, which increased its number of seats to 152 (out of 630) in the last parliamentary election in February, applied to the court to issue an injunction order if the BfV were to reject the "standstill" order. Both instruments are legal tools that can be used by plaintiffs to ensure that an authority must pause measures that the plaintiff considers unlawful. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 9 years ago: Most beautiful twins. Their appearance today will shock you Novelodge Undo "The Federal Office has now preempted the issuance of such an injunction by issuing the 'standstill' order, which means that the Federal Office will refrain from designating the AfD as a 'confirmed right-wing extremist' party and will not treat it as such until the proceedings have been concluded," said Markus Ogorek, director of the Institute for Public Law and Administrative Theory at Cologne University. Ogorek's view coincides with comments by Michael Ott, presiding judge and press spokesman at the Administrative Court of Cologne: "The Federal Office considers its classification to be correct, it has only suspended the designation to give the court time to carry out a proper review," he said. This would give the responsible judges time to work through the over 1,000-page report, he said. If the BfV had refused to suspend its decision, the court could have issued an injunction. This would have also frozen the previous decision to prevent the plaintiff from suffering "a potentially irreversible disadvantage," as Ogorek explained. Who is Alice Weidel, co-leader of Germany's far-right AfD? According to the research department of the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, the classification of the AfD as "confirmed right-wing extremist" is primarily an "internal classification by the authorities." In individual cases, the decision could result in the BfV setting a lower threshold for intelligence surveillance methods compared to the previous status as a "suspected case." This could mean recruiting undercover agents or making covert video and audio recordings. However, the legal requirements for such tactics are met in both cases. 'This is everyday administrative procedural business' 'The fact that the AfD or the AfD's legal representatives are interpreting this 'standstill' promise as if it were the first partial success in the proceedings must be firmly contradicted," said Ogorek. "This is everyday administrative procedural business, so to speak. It's got nothing to do with the prospects of success." The BfV also issued such a pledge during a case in 2021 after the AfD filed a lawsuit against its classification as a "suspected case." In that case, the court later issued a suspension order. The reason given by the court was that "there was every indication that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution had not kept to its promise to remain silent or had not taken sufficient care to ensure that no information relevant to the proceedings leaked out. " Prior to this, the German media had reported widely on the proceedings. Then, in 2024, a Münster Higher Administrative Court ruled in appeal proceedings that the BfV was allowed to monitor the AfD as a "suspected case."
Russia Today
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
German spies grant AfD reprieve
Germany's domestic intelligence agency has temporarily suspended its classification of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a 'confirmed right-wing extremist' group, pending the outcome of a legal appeal. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) suspended the label on Thursday and removed a press release about the designation from its website. The classification, which was announced by the BfV last week, was based on a comprehensive report alleging that the AfD promotes policies excluding individuals with migrant backgrounds, particularly Muslims, from full societal participation. The BfV claimed that the party 'disregards human dignity' and uses terms such as 'knife-wielding migrants' to ascribe violent tendencies to non-European ethnic groups. The AfD leadership condemned the decision as 'a severe blow to German democracy' and filed a lawsuit in a Cologne court, arguing that the classification was politically motivated and lacked sufficient evidence. As a result, the BfV temporarily withdrew the classification, but said it would monitor the party as a 'suspected case' of an extremist organization. The suspended designation would have empowered the BfV to carry out broad surveillance of the AfD's activities. The lower-level designation also allows surveillance, but under stricter judicial oversight. AfD co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla welcomed the temporary suspension, calling it 'a first important step' that will help 'counter the accusation of right-wing extremism.' The 'extremist' label was met with skepticism by many German politicians. Then-German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and incoming Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt warned against banning the AfD. Dobrindt has argued that the party should be made irrelevant through good governance rather than drastic measures. He also insisted on a discussion over the reasons that the AfD has risen to prominence, referring to recent polls indicating that it has become the most popular party in Germany, reaching 26% support. The AfD's surge has often been attributed to public frustration over the immigration policies of the mainstream parties, as well as economic challenges and perceived government ineffectiveness.
