For Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt, classifying the AfD as right-wing extremist is not sufficient for a ban; we must instead challenge their arguments. Chancellor Friedrich Merz agrees: “10 million AfD voters – you can’t ban them. You have to engage with them factually and on substance.” For many people, it’s either/or: the way to defeat the AfD is not to ban them, but to challenge them on content. But not both.
Let’s assume that it is either/or. The AfD’s rise to the top of the polls has shown that challenging their ideas, which I am told is being done, has been ineffective. And a government whose own leader admits it’s “certainly not unjustified” for workers to fear economic decline under his leadership does not inspire hope. We should challenge the AfD’s ideas, but that’s not what’s happening now. By this framing, it’s time for a ban.
Second, to those arguing a ban is unjustified due to the AfD’s support: if they explicitly called for exterminating a minority and retained support, would a ban still be unjustified? Regardless of their support, there is presumably some red line beyond which a ban would be justified. This is not about how many support them, it’s about where we draw that red line. If we’re going to discuss this, let’s at least discuss the real issue.
I reject the either/or framing. We can *both* ban the AfD and then do the work to fight the rightward shift of society.
Raphael is a 2nd year MPP student focusing on public procurement and finance. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Classics from McGill University.
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