Enhancing Constitutional Defenses: Landtag's Planned Steps Against Anti-Constitutional Elements - Strengthening Defense Against Constitutional Adversaries by the Landtag
In response to increasing concerns about security in the region, several German state parliaments have launched initiatives to protect legislatures from constitutional enemies. These measures, which include loyalty checks on parliamentary staff, are designed to ensure that employees working within state parliaments demonstrate loyalty to the democratic constitutional order and do not pose security risks or have extremist affiliations.
The loyalty checks, known as "Treueüberprüfungen," are conducted specifically for parliamentary staff to screen for political extremism or unconstitutional attitudes that could threaten democratic institutions. This is part of a broader framework to safeguard democratic governance from constitutional enemies, such as extremist ideologies undermining the Basic Law (Grundgesetz).
The checks are grounded in the constitutional and legal principle that employees working in state institutions must uphold the liberal democratic order, reflecting Germany’s historical experience with extremist regimes and the legal tradition of wehrhafte Demokratie (defensive democracy). While the Bundeswehr sets an example with its “citizen-in-uniform” principle ensuring soldiers' loyalty to parliament and constitution, similar principles extend to civilian parliamentary staff, where ideological loyalty and political reliability assessments occur.
The extent and procedures of loyalty checks vary between the 16 German states but generally include background investigations, including past affiliations, and sometimes ongoing monitoring if justified. The state parliament president has the authority to approve or deny employees based on the results of the "reliability check."
These initiatives are part of a comprehensive democratic security strategy including political education, legal vetting, and institutional oversight. The decision to strengthen security was made due to potential threats, and the focus of the strengthened security will be on protection against constitutional enemies.
On Tuesday, Astrid Wallmann, the president of the Hessian state parliament, is expected to present an initiative to protect and strengthen the parliament. The details of the implementation process were not provided in the article. However, it is clear that these measures are an essential part of Germany’s ongoing commitment to prevent the infiltration of constitutional enemies into key state organs and reflect lessons learned from earlier failures to fully purge extremist elements from public service.
Notably, the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament has already implemented security checks for employees of parliamentary factions. The AfD faction in the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament opposed and criticized the implementation of these security checks. The effectiveness of the new security measures will be reviewed regularly.
These developments underscore the importance of maintaining the democratic constitutional order in Germany and the vigilance required to protect it from potential threats. As the world continues to evolve, so too must the measures taken to safeguard democratic values and institutions.
[1] This approach stems from Germany’s post-World War II commitment to prevent the infiltration of constitutional enemies into key state organs and reflects lessons learned from earlier failures to fully purge extremist elements from public service. (Source: [insert citation here])
- To further safeguard democratic institutions from potential threats, the community policy within the German state parliaments is extending its focus to policy-and-legislation, including employment policies, to ensure parliamentary staff demonstrate loyalty to the democratic constitutional order and abstain from extremist affiliations, applying the constitutional and legal principle of wehrhafte Demokratie.
- As a part of the ongoing commitment to prevent the infiltration of constitutional enemies into key state organs, politics and general news reporting must emphasize the importance of these expansionary employment policies and the regular review of their effectiveness in safeguarding democratic values and institutions, in line with the lessons learned from earlier failures to fully purge extremist elements from public service.
