Top German court backs far-right party over Merkel comments
Germany’s highest court has backed a far-right party’s complaint against comments by former Chancellor Angela Merkel that the election of a state governor with the party’s support must not be allowed to stand
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Germany's highest court on Wednesday backed a far-right party's complaint against former Chancellor Angela Merkel's comments that the election of a state governor with the party's support was “inexcusable” and must not be allowed to stand.
The Federal Constitutional Court found that the comments, made by the then-chancellor in 2020, violated Alternative for Germany's right to equality of opportunities.
Merkel's comments during an official visit to South Africa and later posted on her and the government’s websites, came a day after the surprise election of Thomas Kemmerich, a member of the pro-business Free Democrats, as governor of the eastern state of Thuringia.
Kemmerich narrowly defeated a left-wing incumbent after Alternative for Germany representatives in the state legislature voted for him instead of AfD's own candidate.
His election was a major embarrassment for Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union, which also had backed Kemmerich.
Merkel vented her displeasure during a news conference in South Africa, saying that Kemmerich’s election “broke with a fundamental conviction for the CDU, and for me, too, that no majorities should be won with help from AfD.”
Later the same day, Kemmerich announced that he planned to step down.
The German supreme court found that Merkel had “negatively qualified” AfD in an official capacity and so “influenced the competition of political parties in a one-sided way.” The court further held that the government used resources that only it has in publishing the comments on its websites.
There was some dissent to the decision, which judges made by a 5-3 majority. The ruling doesn't have direct consequences for Merkel.
AfD previously took similar action. In 2020, the top court ruled that Germany's then-interior minister violated the party's rights by posting on his ministry’s website an interview in which he criticized its behavior as “undermining the state.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.