Should there be a motion to ban the AfD? The SPD leadership wants to push the debate forward and is putting a motion up for a vote at the party conference.

The SPD is pushing for a swift decision on a motion to ban the AfD. A motion calling for appropriate preparations is to be passed late this morning at the conclusion of the federal party conference in Berlin. "Now is the time for the constitutional bodies authorized to file motions to create the conditions for immediately filing a motion to declare the AfD unconstitutional," it states.

"In this motion, we state very clearly that we believe the AfD is the greatest threat to our democracy and is actually working to abolish it," Bundestag member Carmen Wegge told the German Press Agency. All steps must now be taken immediately to obtain a review of the AfD before the Federal Constitutional Court.

Calls for a ban against the AfD grew louder after the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified the party as firmly right-wing extremist. However, due to the AfD's legal action against it, the classification is currently on hold. The Federal Constitutional Court would have to decide on a party ban upon application by the Federal Government, the Bundestag, or the Bundesrat.

The SPD party executive's motion now calls for a federal-state working group to examine the prospects of success for a ban and gather supporting material. "If this review shows that we can present evidence in court—and we assume we can—then it is no longer a political decision for us to file this ban motion, but a democratic duty," Wegge said.

The Green Party also recently advocated for a working group, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz views the calls for a ban as "very skeptical." Just a few days ago, in a different case, the Federal Administrative Court failed to ban the right-wing extremist magazine "Compact."

The new SPD leader, Bärbel Bas, emphasized at the party conference in Berlin on Friday: "We should now clarify very quickly whether there is sufficient evidence to have the AfD's unconstitutionality examined by the Federal Constitutional Court." If this evidence exists, "then we as the SPD have a democratic duty to make every effort to ensure that a ban application can be submitted."