Bavarian State Parliament - Aigner will present an expert opinion on the 'Extremism Clause'
State President Ilse Aigner will present a legal opinion on the introduction of a so-called Extremism Clause in the Bavarian Parliamentarian Law as announced on Monday (11.00 am). The legal opinion was commissioned by the Bavarian Parliament a few months ago from the holder of the Chair for Public Law, Security Law, and the Law of New Technologies at the University of Passau, Tristan Barczak.
The central question is whether parliamentary employees of extremist parties must be paid salaries in the future. The Bavarian Parliament currently lacks a legal basis to refuse payment of wages to "clearly constitutionally hostile extremists." Such a legal basis exists in no German parliament and could potentially become part of the Parliamentarian Law in Bavaria, according to Aigner. However, it would require a majority in the Bavarian Parliament, effectively the votes of the coalition.
"Dangerous gap in the Parliamentarian Law"
The employees of parliamentarians sign their employment contracts directly with the parliamentarians, while the parliamentary administration only handles the payment. The Bavarian Broadcasting reported before the parliamentary initiative that the AfD faction in the Federal Parliament and its parliamentarians employed more than 100 female and male staff members who were active in organizations assessed as right-wing extremist by the constitutional protection authorities. Among them were activists from the "Identitarian Movement," ideological leaders from the "New Right," and several neo-Nazis.
Aigner then stated, "We are also aware of individual cases where parliamentary employees of parliamentarians are said to belong to organizations that are clearly labeled as constitutionally hostile." She refused to comment directly and in detail on these individuals. However, she emphasized, "I consider it a dangerous gap that we currently have to allow constitutionally hostile individuals to be paid from taxpayer funds." Closing this gap, she noted, is legally very complex – hence, a thorough examination of the question is necessary.
- The legal opinion from Professor Tristan Barczak, appointed by the State Parliament in Munich, will provide insights on whether a future ban on paying salaries to parliamentary employees of extremist parties is legally feasible in the Bavarian State Parliament.
- Ilse Aigner, the State President of Bavaria, has highlighted the need for the Bavarian State Parliament to address the issue of extremism, as the current Parliamentarian Law does not provide a legal basis to refuse payment to "clearly constitutionally hostile extremists."
- In a recent legal opinion, Barczak suggested that if the Bavarian State Parliament passes the Extremism Clause, it could potentially prohibit the payment of salaries to parliamentary staff affiliated with extremist organizations, such as those in the AFD faction in the Federal Parliament.
