State-funded grants sought by foundation with ties to Alternative for Germany political party, seeking millions of euros in support.
Party-affiliated foundations in Germany eye state funding
The Desiderius-Erasmus-Stiftung, linked to the right-wing AfD party, is eying a slice of the state funding for political foundations following the AfD's third consecutive entry into the Bundestag. The foundation's chairwoman, Erika Steinbach, made this clear in Berlin, stating, "We bloody well deserve funding!" Steinbach anticipates the Federal Ministry of the Interior to give the green light for this. The application for funding in the year 2026 has already been submitted to the ministry.
Leveraging the new legal landscape
Steinbach points to the Foundation Funding Act that was passed at the tail end of 2023 as the basis for the funding. This Act sets out funding for party-affiliated foundations when their parent parties secure faction strength in the Bundestag for the third consecutive time, which the AfD has now achieved.
Another condition: These foundations must actively promote the free democratic basic order and the idea of international understanding. Funding would kick in a year after the federal election – in 2026.
Firm ground under the German Constitution
Steinbach brushes off the recent classification of the AfD as a secure right-wing extremist by the constitutional protection, which is currently the subject of an ongoing legal dispute. She argues that only the Federal Constitutional Court can pass judgment on unconstitutionality. "As a political foundation, we're standing like a bloody rock on the principles of our German Constitution," she asserts.
Millions in state support for party-affiliated foundations
Foundations linked to parties––the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (CDU), Friedrich Ebert Foundation (SPD), Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FDP), Hanns Seidel Foundation (CSU), Heinrich Böll Foundation (Greens), and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (Left) – currently receive tens of millions of euros in federal funding annually.
The Desiderius-Erasmus-Stiftung has hitherto received zilch. The AfD had challenged this, but the Federal Constitutional Court decided in February 2023 that the previous funding practice, which had been in place for decades without legal regulations for the funding criteria, needed to be revamped. The Foundation Funding Act was subsequently created as a legal basis, detailing the conditions for state funding.
According to its own calculations, the Desiderius-Erasmus-Stiftung is entitled to roughly 18 million euros from the federal budget alone from 2026.
[1] - General principles of public party financing in Germany: parties receive funding based on per-vote subsidies, whereby new parties receive higher subsidies for their first four million votes to promote political competition. Foundations must support democratic values and international understanding to qualify for funding.
The Desiderius-Erasmus-Stiftung, a foundation associated with the right-wing AfD party, is actively seeking state funding under the new policy-and-legislation, the Foundation Funding Act, passed in late-2023. This law provides funding for party-affiliated foundations when their parent parties secure faction strength in the Bundestag for the third consecutive term, a condition the AfD has now satisfied.
In addition, Steinbach, the foundation's chairwoman, emphasizes the Desiderius-Erasmus-Stiftung's commitment to promoting the free democratic basic order and the idea of international understanding, prerequisites for receiving state funding as stipulated in the Act. Upon approval from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the foundation anticipates receiving around 18 million euros from the federal budget starting in 2026, taking its position among other party-affiliated foundations that receive tens of millions of euros in annual state support in politics.
