The Thuringian Landtag’s Committee for Justice, Migration and Consumer Protection has scheduled an oral hearing for September 30. It follows a motion by the Left Party faction asking the state government to press federal authorities and the Bundesrat to initiate a ban procedure against the AfD under Article 21(2) of Germany’s Basic Law.
The hearing is planned in three sessions, beginning at 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., and the parliament says it will livestream the proceedings. The 7 p.m. session is scheduled to include entertainer Hape Kerkeling, former president of Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution Hans-Georg Maassen, constitutional law professor Kyrill-Alexander Schwarz and lawyer Ulrich Vosgerau.
The list brings together people from different fields: Kerkeling is a prominent public figure, Maassen previously led Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, and the other named participants have legal backgrounds. Holding the hearing does not itself launch a ban procedure; the committee is considering testimony and material connected to the motion.
The Left Party proposal concerns calling on authorities at the federal level because a state parliament cannot initiate a party-ban case on its own. The hearing is intended to inform the committee’s further consideration of the motion.