FFor AfD, the day started with an unmistakable failure. Due to “obviously inadmissible”, the Federal Constitutional Court rejected the biased application against the Second Senate. According to the court, this reasoning was “completely inappropriate.”
AfD complained that the court delegation met with members of the federal government at the end of June. From the party’s point of view, the recent meeting is the only reason for fear of prejudice. The federal government is ultimately the defendant in the lawsuit heard on Wednesday.
Doris König, the vice-president of the court and chairman of the Second Senate, subsequently clarified a few things. The Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal Government meet regularly; they should be able to promote dialogue between state agencies. König said that the timing of the most recent meeting by itself did not raise any doubts about the justice of the judges. After all, the courts “permanently” participate in proceedings that affect the actions of the federal government or other supreme constitutional agencies.
With their actual attention, Karlsruhe’s AfD may become more successful. The party is boycotting Prime Minister Angela Merkel’s statement on Thomas Kemmerich’s election. The Liberal Democratic Party politician was elected as the Prime Minister of Thuringia by the CDU, Liberal Democratic Party and AfD on February 5, 2020. The election triggered a political crisis in the state, and its end is still far away. Federal politics is also in turmoil, and the Social Democratic Party has called for an immediate joint committee meeting.
State agencies must remain neutral
In this case, the Prime Minister from South Africa spoke up. There, she was a guest of President Cyril Ramaphosa. Merkel said that before the actual press conference, she wanted to make a “preliminary comment” for “domestic political reasons.” Then there are these sentences: “The election of this prime minister is a unique process that breaks the basic belief of the CDU and me that the majority of seats should not be won with the help of the AfD. Because this is in the third vote. The constellation is predictable, so it must be said that this process is unforgivable, so the results must be reversed. At least for the CDU, the CDU is not allowed to participate in the government led by the elected prime minister. This is for democracy. It’s a bad day.”
Every Tuesday
The statement was published on the website of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Government at the same time. Some people think this violates the federal decentralization; in addition, Merkel cannot make any rules for the CDU regional associations-she has given up her position as chairman of the party two months ago. The office is now headed by Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. AfD believes that Merkel has violated the duty of neutrality and violated the party’s equal opportunities. The legal representative Christian Conrad talked about the “most serious interference” in the Basic Law. He looked forward to “a trend-setting decision on democratic coexistence.”
State agencies must remain neutral in political competition. This responsibility stems from democratic principles. The Federal Constitutional Court often emphasizes the importance of equal opportunities, most recently last summer.At that time, AfD successfully defended itself against the statement of the Federal Minister of the Interior Horst SihoferThe judge stated that elections and voting can only convey democratic legitimacy when they are free. This not only requires free voting; even their judgments should be able to form voters in a free and open process. Therefore, the equal participation of political parties in political competition is crucial. State agencies with more resources must remain neutral. The same applies to individual members of the government.
