Germany: Steinmeier warns of risks to democracy, harsh reaction from AfD

Frankfurt (Germany), 10 November (LaPresse) – German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned of a growing erosion of democratic values and called on citizens and political parties to resolutely defend liberal democracy. In his speech at Bellevue Castle on 9 November – the anniversary of Kristallnacht in 1938 – Steinmeier recalled how freedom and democracy in Germany have never been so threatened since the end of the war. The head of state denounced the dangers of populism and right-wing extremism, accusing those who ‘poison public debate and trade in fear’. He urged democratic parties to maintain a “barrier” against extremist forces, warning that ‘there can be no political cooperation with those who attack the Constitution’. Without directly naming the AfD, Steinmeier said that a party that takes the path of ‘aggressive constitutional hostility’ must face the possibility of a ban, although he called it a ‘last resort’. The president’s words provoked a harsh reaction from the AfD, which accused him of ‘abuse of office’ and of comparing the party to ‘murderous Nazis’ on the day of remembrance of the anti-Jewish pogroms of 1938.