Enhancing Saarland's constitution to safeguard against adversaries of democracy - Strengthening constitutional defenses against democratic adversaries is the goal proposed by Saarland.
In the Landtag of Saarbrücken, a series of constitutional amendments are currently under discussion, initiated by the ruling SPD and the opposition CDU on September 17, 2025. These changes aim to strengthen democracy, combat antisemitism, and promote interethnic understanding.
The first significant alteration is the addition of a preamble to the Saarland constitution, which declares the state's commitment to German-French friendship and a peaceful Europe. This preamble also emphasises the importance of democratic principles and cross-border cooperation.
The second amendment reinforces the state's commitment to peaceful coexistence and opposes antisemitism and anti-gypsyism. It also protects Jewish life and Jewish culture, a response to the increase in antisemitic incidents following the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel in October 2023.
The third amendment focuses on the Constitutional Court, clarifying and expanding its provisions. This amendment states that its members must be elected by a two-thirds majority of the Landtag, aiming to ensure a more robust and representative court.
The term of office for Constitutional Court members remains six years, with the possibility of re-election. The new constitution will also include a commitment to interethnic understanding and cross-border cooperation.
CDU leader Toscani laments the influx of "populists and extremists" but believes that anti-constitutional forces should be fought with arguments, not preemptive blocks. In contrast, AfD faction leader Dörr accuses the coalition of trying to "preemptively block the political will of the people of Saarland."
The SPD's Commerçon views these changes as a "strong signal for our democracy," while CDU believes that the AfD, being a nationalist force, is disrespectful towards democracy and is anti-parliamentary and anti-democratic.
The AfD's counter-proposal, which affirmed Saarland's inalienable belonging to the German people, the German language area, and Western culture, was rejected by the Landtag. The constitutional amendments are currently being discussed in the relevant committee, where wording may still be changed, but no exact final date for adoption has been specified yet.
Until now, the Saarland constitution had no preamble. The new constitution will mark a significant step forward in the state's commitment to democratic principles, peace, and interethnic understanding.
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