State elections - SPD leader Klingbeil considers AfD candidates to be right-wing extremists
SPD Chairman Lars Klingbeil sees next year's elections and the approval rating for the AfD as "major challenges". "We have to work hard to make the AfD smaller and the democratic parties bigger," Klingbeil told the Böhme-Zeitung newspaper (Thursday). "The best way to do this is to solve the tasks we have been set and take people's everyday concerns seriously." These range from affordable energy to good childcare and good nursing care.
The European elections are at the beginning of June, and in the fall the state parliaments in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg will also be re-elected. The AfD was recently ahead in the polls in all three states. The AfD state association in Saxony was recently classified by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a confirmed right-wing extremist organization, while the AfD in Thuringia has been classified as such for some time.
Klingbeil: AfD program contents are right-wing extremist
"Anyone who takes on responsibility in the AfD and runs for a seat in the state or federal parliaments is, in my view, a convinced right-wing extremist," said Klingbeil. This is already clear from the party's platform. "However, if citizens tell me at the information stand that they are now voting for AfD because they are angry with the democratic parties, they are not immediately on the right." He wants to win back these disappointed citizens politically, said the SPD chairman. "We have to work hard for this. The AfD is a highly dangerous party because it incites, polarizes and wants to divide this country."
Asked about the possibility of a ban, Klingbeil said that he felt the debate on the subject was growing. "But in Germany there are rightly high hurdles for a ban procedure." He said he had "deep trust in our security authorities, who are monitoring and evaluating developments and - if they believe the line has been crossed - will propose a ban procedure".
The political fight against the AfD
As a politician, his task is the political fight against the AfD. "This involves questions such as: what does the AfD mean for children with disabilities, what does the AfD mean for secure jobs, what about the European Union, from which the AfD would like to leave and thus endanger the jobs of millions of people. The political fight against the AfD is one of the most important tasks for German social democracy," said Klingbeil.
Read also:
- Year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Precautionary arrests show Islamist terror threat
- UN vote urges Israel to ceasefire
- SPD rules out budget resolution before the end of the year
- In the upcoming state elections in Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg, the SPD chairman Lars Klingbeil considers the AfD candidates to be right-wing extremists, as the AfD state association in Saxony has been classified as such by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
- Klingbeil, who sees the European elections and the approval rating for the AfD as major challenges, believes that anyone who takes on responsibility in the AfD and runs for a seat in the state or federal parliaments is a convinced right-wing extremist based on the party's platform.
- The SPD chairman wants to win back disappointed citizens who may be voting for the AfD due to frustration with the democratic parties and sees this as one of his most important tasks in the political fight against the AfD.
- Thuringia's AfD has been classified as right-wing extremist for some time, and the European elections are set to begin in early June, followed by state parliaments re-elections in Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg.
- Klingbeil emphasizes that the AfD is a highly dangerous party because it incites, polarizes, and aims to divide the country, and he has deep trust in Germany's security authorities to monitor and evaluate developments in the party.
- The political fight against the AfD involves addressing questions such as its impact on children with disabilities, secure jobs, and the European Union, from which the AfD would like to leave, which endangers the jobs of millions of people.
- Despite growing debate over the possibility of a ban on the AfD, Klingbeil notes that Germany has high hurdles for a ban procedure and relies on the country's security authorities to propose a ban procedure if they believe the line has been crossed.
Source: www.stern.de
