Yellow cards for misconduct in the parliament nearly doubled

Orderly measures - Yellow cards for misconduct in the parliament nearly doubled

Disappointing mid-term balance: In the first two years of the current legislative period, there have already been 85 so-called Ordinance measures in the parliament. Among them were 79 informal reprimands and six formal reprimands, as stated by the parliament in response to an inquiry. In the first half of the previous legislative period, there had been only about half as many, with 44 Ordinance measures.

During the current legislative period, members of the AfD party were mostly issued the yellow card: 54 of the 79 reprimands were recorded against the right-wing populists. Thirteen members of the SPD party were reprimanded, three from the Greens, twice the formerly non-affiliated member Christian Blex, and once from the FDP. Representatives of the state government received four "reprimand-like notices".

Since about half a year ago, fines of up to 2,000 Euro can be imposed in the parliament for particularly egregious cases. However, this instrument has not yet been used.

Landtag President André Kupfer told dpa: "Disputes belong to democracy, even in the parliament it can get heated. But I will not tolerate a deliberate degradation of the parliament. Anyone who mocks democracy or insults other parliamentarians must reckon with tangible sanctions. The fine is a sharp and effective sword against the coarsening of language and deliberate disruptions. We will not allow hatred and vitriol to be spread from this parliament."

1. In the current legislative period, which is being held in North Rhine-Westphalia's state parliament in Düsseldorf, a significant increase in 'Ordinance measures' has been observed, with 85 so far during the first two years.
2. During the first half of the previous legislative period, the 'Half-year balance' showed a lower number of 'Ordinance measures', with only approximately 44 being implemented.
3. As a part of the 'orderly measure' to maintain decorum and respect in the parliament, fines up to 2,000 Euro have been introduced for particularly egregious incidents, although they have yet to be imposed.

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