Majority of Germans 'support regional bans' on far-right AfD
Amid a wave of protests against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), more than half of Germans have said they are in favour of a ban on the party in several eastern states.
In a poll of eligible voters conducted by Pollytix this January, a majority of respondents said they would support an outright ban on the AfD in the states of Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, where the party has been categorised as "extremist" by the Germany's Constitutional Court.
Overall, 59 percent of people said they considered outlawing the AfD to be a "very good idea" or a "fairly good idea", while 38 percent said a ban would be either bad or fairly bad.
According to the poll, the highest level of support for a regional ban came from Greens and Social Democrat (SPD) voters.
There was slightly less support for this proposal among people who voted for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU), Left Party or Free Democrats (FDP), while many of the supporters of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) - a breakaway anti-migrant party led by a former Left MP - were also sceptical about a ban.
According to Pollytix, almost all of the AfD supporters surveyed were against it.
READ ALSO: 'Silent majority' marches against Germany's far-right AfD
The AfD have been thrust into the spotlight since an investigation by Correctiv revealed that members of the party had attended a meeting of right-wing extremists in Potsdam back in November.
According to the report, Martin Sellner, a prominent figure in Austria's far-right scene, gave a talk at the meeting on the topic of "remigration" - a euphemism in extremist circles for deporting foreigners, or people with a migraiton background, by force.
The revelations have sparked a major backlash in recent weeks, with hundreds of thousands of people marching against the far-right in mass demonstrations across Germany.
Speaking to Hessenschau about the demos, Frankfurt-based protest researcher Daniel Mullis described them as "the biggest demonstrations in West Germany since the Iraq war and probably the biggest demonstrations in East Germany since the years of reunification in 1989/90".
"This is a massive uprising from civil society, which really cannot be overestimated," he said.
READ ALSO: AfD denies plans to expel unassimilated foreigners
However, despite the outpouring of anger against the rise of the far-right, the AfD continues to surge in regional polls, particularly in the former eastern states.
With national polls putting the party at around 22 percent - and as much as 35 percent on a regional level - the party expected to do well when Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia hold state elections later this year.
Asked about the Correctiv investigation, around four in five eligible voters said they had heard or read about the meeting, while 70 percent of people who had encountered the article saying they were concerned about its findings.
Legal experts say a direct ban on the AfD would be difficult to enact, though taking legal action against prominent far-right politicians on an individual level - for example, to ban them from campaigning politically - is an increasingly popular idea.
READ ALSO: How worried should Germany be about the far-right AfD after mass deportation scandal?
Another option, which is supported by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), is to target the financial resources of right-wing extremist parties.
"It is a high priority for us to illuminate and uncover the personal and financial connections in right-wing extremist networks," Faeser told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
"No one who donates to right-wing extremist organisations should rely on remaining undetected."
READ ALSO: Even with German citizenship reform foreigners must be wary of lurch to the far-right
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In a poll of eligible voters conducted by Pollytix this January, a majority of respondents said they would support an outright ban on the AfD in the states of Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, where the party has been categorised as "extremist" by the Germany's Constitutional Court.
Overall, 59 percent of people said they considered outlawing the AfD to be a "very good idea" or a "fairly good idea", while 38 percent said a ban would be either bad or fairly bad.
According to the poll, the highest level of support for a regional ban came from Greens and Social Democrat (SPD) voters.
There was slightly less support for this proposal among people who voted for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU), Left Party or Free Democrats (FDP), while many of the supporters of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) - a breakaway anti-migrant party led by a former Left MP - were also sceptical about a ban.
According to Pollytix, almost all of the AfD supporters surveyed were against it.
READ ALSO: 'Silent majority' marches against Germany's far-right AfD
The AfD have been thrust into the spotlight since an investigation by Correctiv revealed that members of the party had attended a meeting of right-wing extremists in Potsdam back in November.
According to the report, Martin Sellner, a prominent figure in Austria's far-right scene, gave a talk at the meeting on the topic of "remigration" - a euphemism in extremist circles for deporting foreigners, or people with a migraiton background, by force.
The revelations have sparked a major backlash in recent weeks, with hundreds of thousands of people marching against the far-right in mass demonstrations across Germany.
Speaking to Hessenschau about the demos, Frankfurt-based protest researcher Daniel Mullis described them as "the biggest demonstrations in West Germany since the Iraq war and probably the biggest demonstrations in East Germany since the years of reunification in 1989/90".
"This is a massive uprising from civil society, which really cannot be overestimated," he said.
READ ALSO: AfD denies plans to expel unassimilated foreigners
However, despite the outpouring of anger against the rise of the far-right, the AfD continues to surge in regional polls, particularly in the former eastern states.
With national polls putting the party at around 22 percent - and as much as 35 percent on a regional level - the party expected to do well when Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia hold state elections later this year.
Asked about the Correctiv investigation, around four in five eligible voters said they had heard or read about the meeting, while 70 percent of people who had encountered the article saying they were concerned about its findings.
Legal experts say a direct ban on the AfD would be difficult to enact, though taking legal action against prominent far-right politicians on an individual level - for example, to ban them from campaigning politically - is an increasingly popular idea.
READ ALSO: How worried should Germany be about the far-right AfD after mass deportation scandal?
Another option, which is supported by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), is to target the financial resources of right-wing extremist parties.
"It is a high priority for us to illuminate and uncover the personal and financial connections in right-wing extremist networks," Faeser told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
"No one who donates to right-wing extremist organisations should rely on remaining undetected."
READ ALSO: Even with German citizenship reform foreigners must be wary of lurch to the far-right
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