Germany's Social Democrats back proposal to ban far-right AfD

Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) on Sunday passed a motion calling for preparations to ban the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), as the party faithful convened in Berlin for the close of its three-day national conference, reported dpa.

"The moment at which domestic intelligence says this is a confirmed right-wing extremist party, there is no more room for tactics," said party co-leader Lars Klingbeil, who serves as finance minister and vice chancellor in Chancellor Friedrich Merz's new government.

The motion calls on relevant constitutional bodies to lay the groundwork for filing a case to declare the anti-immigrant AfD unconstitutional.

"Now is the time for the constitutional bodies entitled to do so to create the conditions for immediately filing a motion to determine the unconstitutionality of the AfD," the text reads.

The AfD, known for its anti-immigration, anti-Muslim, eurosceptic and nationalist rhetoric, has been a flashpoint in German politics for over a decade.

In recent years, the party has gained ground by capitalizing on economic discontent and growing unease over immigration. It is now Germany's largest opposition party.

Calls to ban the AfD intensified after Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), reclassified the party in May as a "confirmed right-wing extremist" group, enabling expanded surveillance.

However, the designation was suspended pending a legal challenge by the AfD, and the agency will treat the party as a "suspected" case until the Cologne administrative court makes a judgement.

After leading the previous German government under ex-chancellor Olaf Scholz, the centre-left SPD nosedived to 16% in February's parliamentary election and is now the junior partner in Merz's administration, in coalition with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU).