Germany’s left have long claimed that the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is a threat to democracy, and due to this claim, they argue the party should be banned entirely. Although banning parties is typically reserved for authoritarian regimes, this outcome remains a very real possibility in Germany, and a local election in the city of Ludwigshafen just showed what such an outcome could look like in practice.
Incredibly, the main candidate for the AfD, Joachim Paul, was banned from running in the mayoral election. The method used to ban him could become widespread and now represent — despite what the left claims — the true threat to democracy in Germany.
Using an expert opinion from the powerful domestic spy agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), commissioned by Social Democrat (SPD)-led Interior Minister of Rhineland-Palantinate, Paul was banned through the courts. It was a backdoor method that three separate courts upheld after numerous appeals by the AfD” ‘s lawyers.
“Election night without the blue bar. And without an alternative! Remarkable: low voter turnout and a relatively high number of invalid votes. I thank everyone who has supported me in the last 6 weeks! Many heartfelt thanks!” wrote Paul on his X page.
Notably, Paul was leading in the polls before he was removed entirely from the ballot. Nobody replaced him on the ballot either, meaning the AfD was not represented by anyone in the election.
Now, the turnout in the mayoral election has reached an all-time low of just 29.3 percent. In 2017’s mayoral election in Ludwigshafen, the then-SPD candidate Jutta Steinruck won with 60.2 percent participation.
That means voter turnout was cut in half from that election.
That is not all. For those who did vote, many of them appear to have submitted “spoiled” ballots. A record-high number of ballots were ruled invalid, at 9.2 percent. Eight years ago, that number was just 2.6 percent.
In the final totals for this most recent election, in which Paul was banned, Klaus Blettner (CDU) and Jens Peter Gotter (SPD) have advanced to the runoff vote. Blettner received 41.2 percent of the vote and Goter 35.5 percent. Another SPD candidate, Martin Wegner, received 15.7 percent, and Volt candidate Michaela Schneider-Wettstein received 7.6 percent.
However, to claim that whoever wins the second round of voting now has a “mandate” from the people in a fair democratic election is questionable, if not outright laughable.
Still, the liberal media and establishment politicians will either be silent about what happened in Ludwigshafen or openly cheer it on, despite 70 percent of voters choosing simply not to vote, and many who did protested with invalid votes.
This entire operation, a true victory for “democracy,” was orchestrated by AfD rival parties from start to finish. Outgoing Mayor Steinruck, while serving as chairwoman of the electoral committee, initiated the expulsion. All parties in the city are represented on the electoral committee — except the AfD.
The only party to reject the move in the committee was the Free Democrats (FDP). All others backed the unprecedented move. It was in their electoral interest, after all. Eliminating the democratic competition through bureaucratic backroom deals is now de facto a reality in Germany.
Paul says he is not giving up and told the media that he has initiated further legal action, the very same day voters headed to the polls.
“We are determined to contest the election. Whether after the first round or after the runoff is up to my lawyers,” Paul told the German Press Agency.
Other courts have already rejected Paul’s attempts to gain a spot on the ballot before the election, with all of these courts telling him he must pursue legal actions after the vote was already concluded.
Party co-leader Alice Weidel has criticized the mayoral race as well.
“Only 29.3% of the Ludwigshafen residents participated in the mayoral election, from which AfD candidate Joachim Paul was excluded. A democracy thrives on the freedom of choice — but that wasn’t even granted to the citizens,” wrote Weidel.
However, her and her party’s protests are certain to have little influence on how this new weapon is used. In fact, the only remedy may be through the courts, the same ones that have many judges actively hostile to the AfD.
In contrast, the outgoing mayor, Steinruck, says banning a candidate through a bureaucratic process, one that has never been used before, is simply the “rule of law.”
“There are rules. We, as the electoral committee, have obviously adhered to these rules. There are now three court rulings that confirm this.” She said the fact that people are “questioning” the rule of law makes her “sad.”
“We all have to continue working on this in the future,” Steinruck added.
AfD remains at record high
This move comes at a time when debate over a ban on the entire AfD continues to rage. The AfD currently stands at between 26 percent and 27 percent in national polls, and could even reach 30 percent within the next year.
Of course, the party may also fall from this polling high. However, the federal government remains deeply unpopular, and the core issues of a faltering economy, sky-high immigration, exploding crime, troubled schools, soaring debt levels, and a disastrous energy policy are not going away.
The ground is ripe for the AfD to remain a competitive party.
Pressure for an outright ban will grow more intense as the party grows more popular, but if that is not achieved, more and more AfD candidates may simply be eliminated from participating in elections altogether via the method used to eliminate Paul.
The precedent has now been set.
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