What are 'fairness agreements' in German political campaigns?

In the municipal election campaigns that led up to Sunday's vote in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), most parties signed up to a "fairness agreement", which included refraining from personal insult, extremist statements or deliberately spreading false information.

During the election, questions were raised about whether these agreements might unintentionally benefit extremist parties.

Fairness agreements (Fairness-Abkommen) are intended to promote respectful campaigning and have become an increasingly prominent feature of German electoral politics.

Put simply, they are non-binding codes of conduct which major parties in Germany voluntarily adopt ahead of elections.

During the Germany's last federal election at the beginning of this year, for example, the Social Democrats (SPD), Christian Union (CDU/CSU), Greens, Free Democrats (FDP), and The Left parties all signed such a pact.

In addition to key commitments to not engage in personal attacks, extremist rhetoric, or spreading disinformation, the agreements also emphasize transparency, the ethical use of campaign data, and the protection of campaign materials from vandalism or violence.

By collectively agreeing on campaign rules, the parties seek to reduce polarisation and protect public trust in Germany’s political system.

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Far-right parties like the Alternative for Germany (AfD) have remained outside these agreements thus far.

NRW and Cologne

In North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), most major democratic parties signed a state-wide Fairness Agreement for the 2025 municipal elections which took place on Sunday.

In the city of Cologne, local leaders went a step further, additionally pledging to highlight inclusion and social cohesion as priorities during the election campaign, to debate migration "fairly" and to avoid inciting prejudice against refugees.

Fairness agreements have been a feature of local politics in Cologne since at least 1998, where they are overseen by a “Round Table for Integration” which includes Ombudsmen from the Protestant and Catholic churches and other community and civic representatives. 

The AfD was deliberately excluded from both Cologne’s fairness pact and the state-wide pact in NRW. According to German media reports, the city of Cologne's agreement was signed by seven parties in total: CDU, SPD, FDP, Greens, Left, Die Partei, and Volt.

A spokesperson from the organizing group confirmed that the AfD was "expressly not sent" the fairness agreement because their basic platform fundamentally contradicted the principles of respect and inclusion for which it stood.

Leader's of the far-right party, which has been officially confirmed as extremist by Germany's domestic intelligence agency in some states, have repeatedly spread misinformation and engaged in inflammatory speech against immigrants, including incitement to hatred.

Among the slogans the AfD used in Cologne on this occasion was "Deport instead of fly in" (Abschieben statt einfliegen). 

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Nonetheless, some commentators have argued that fairness agreements inadvertently provide the AfD with a strategic advantage, because mainstream parties are then subject to a code of conduct while the far-right is free to spread false information and anti-immigrant discourse.

The debates are likely to continue in the wake of the election.

According to preliminary results, the AfD saw their share of the vote rise from approximately 5.1 percent in 2020 to 14.5 percent in the recent election, providing ammunition for commentators who argue that the other parties are currently obliged to campaign with one arm tied behind their backs.

On the other hand, the far-right party actually received a lower percentage of votes on Sunday than it did in NRW earlier in the year during the federal elections.

Fairness agreements which fail to include a party which is now the third biggest in Germany's most populous state are clearly imperfect. Arguably, they also prevent German politics from devolving further into misinformation and unchecked personal attacks.