The former President of the Federal Constitutional Court, Andreas Vosskuhleis concerned about the dangers of possible government formation Support the AfD warned. Every democratic party must ask itself whether it is with one party wants to cooperatewhich intends to abolish democracy, he told the Daily Mirror. Forming a government would mean “going to bed with the devil.”
The election of an AfD politician as head of government would have “an enormous role model effect” and could increase illiberal developments throughout the country, he said with a view to the 2026 state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony-Anhalt. “What happens in one state can also happen in the federal government,” said Voßkuhle.
The former constitutional judge warned that an AfD prime minister could intervene deeply in state structures. It is possible, for example, that the Holocaust will no longer be discussed in school lessons, that partisans will control the judiciary or that the police and public prosecutor’s office will be used against political opponents.
AfD sees competitors as “corrupt elites”
The AfD wanted to “abolish Western-style parliamentarism” and threaten freedom of expressionwarned Voßkuhle. He said they don’t see other parties as democratic competitors, but rather as “corrupt elites and traitors to the people.” There are no open debates internally: “The AfD lacks the DNA of pluralistic democracy.”
Voßkuhle believes that the fact that many AfD voters hope that moderate forces will strengthen is an illusion. Political movements tend to become more radicalized, he said. Voting decisions are often emotionally influenced and therefore difficult to reach with rational arguments. Intellectuals don’t think about this enough.
Voßkuhle warns of the consequences of the global shift to the right
In principle, the ex-President of the Constitutional Court warned of dangers for democracy in Germany. “If there is a shift to the right almost everywhere in the world and totalitarian systems are emerging, it will become increasingly unlikely that Germany will be able to permanently escape this trend,” he said.
Germany is not a Gallic village. It is possible that the Germans voted out their own democracy, said Voßkuhle. This has already happened in other EU countries such as Hungary, and “it could happen soon in Poland and France,” he said. Governments are already in power in the USA and Israel viewed political opponents as enemies.
Voßkuhle was a judge from 2008 to 2020 Federal Constitutional Courtas its president from 2010.
