Proposal sought for legislation shielding laborers from potential ionising radiation hazards, as per Commission's directions.
Germany Excludes AfD Candidate from Mayoral Election over Constitutional Loyalty Concerns
Joachim Paul, an AfD candidate for the mayoral election in Ludwigshafen, has been barred from running for the position due to doubts about his loyalty to the German Constitution. This decision was made by the city's election committee, which consists of representatives from the SPD, CDU, Free Democrats, and FDP, with no representation from the AfD.
The exclusion was based on evidence and recommendations from state-level authorities, including the Interior Ministry of Rhineland-Palatinate, supported by intelligence reports from offices responsible for protecting the constitution. The state Interior Ministry issued an 11-page letter citing concerns about Paul’s meetings with far-right extremist figures, such as Martin Sellner of the Identitarian movement, which advocates anti-immigration and remigration policies, viewed as incompatible with constitutional principles.
The AfD has faced similar exclusions in other cases, such as in the district of Lippe in North Rhine-Westphalia where the election committee refused to allow the AfD candidate for the mayoral election to run on the application of the Greens.
The AfD, the second strongest force in Ludwigshafen in the last federal election, has accused Interior Minister Thomas Ebling of resorting to scandalous methods in the Ludwigshafen case. They claim that Ebling is trying to get rid of a direct competitor by means of fabricated and unsustainable right-wing extremism accusations.
The vice-chairman of the AfD in the state, Sebastian Münzenmaier, has stated that Ebling will receive his payback twice: in court and on election day. He also described the decision as an attack on democracy and a violation of the constitutional guarantee of equal treatment of parties.
Paul has announced that he will go to court against the decision. He expressed his astonishment, stating that "we no longer live in a democracy." Left-wing extremists demonstrated against Paul before the decision in Ludwigshafen.
The decision to exclude Paul was taken due to concerns about his commitment to uphold the German constitution based on his connections and ideological positions seen as incompatible with democratic constitutional values. This has resulted in ongoing debates and legal challenges regarding the AfD’s place in German democracy, with increasing speculation of federal-level actions against the party due to concerns about extremist tendencies within its ranks.
[1] Bundesverfassungsgericht [2] Interior Ministry of Rhineland-Palatinate [3] AfD [4] Identitarian movement [5] Sellner, Martin
- The exclusion of Joachim Paul, an AfD mayoral candidate, from the election in Ludwigshafen highlights ongoing debates about the AfD's place in German democracy, as concerns about war-and-conflicts, such as extremist connections, and policy-and-legislation, including the party's alignment with anti-immigration and remigration policies advocated by the Identitarian movement, led to questions about his loyalty to the German Constitution.
- The Interior Ministry of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) have become involved in the political arena, as they issued letters and recommendations regarding the constitutional loyalty of AfD candidates, such as Joachim Paul and his meetings with figures like Martin Sellner of the Identitarian movement, thereby influencing policy-and-legislation and general-news discourse on war-and-conflicts and politics.
