“As with every other party”: Spahn calls for different ways of dealing with the AfD in the Bundestag

The former Minister of Health Spahn proposes that the AfD be treated exactly like any other opposition party, and the criticism of the proposal does not shrink.

Not for the first time there is a dispute about how to deal with the AfD. After all, it is about the second largest parliamentary group in the Bundestag. In the CDU some refer to parliamentary rights and warn against a "victim role".

Although the group of the AfD is entitled to the second largest hall in the German Bundestag, the other parties have joined forces to prevent the right from getting it.

Should the AfD be treated like other opposition parties? Jens Spahn poked on it several times. Greens and leftists are shocked. There is also protest from the SPD.

The AfD reaches 25 percent and more, especially in the East. Unbelieving headshaking is no longer enough as a reaction: A strong AfD is no longer an exception, but political normality. The 2025 Bundestag election has confirmed a political reality that has been emerging for years: the AfD is no longer a marginal party – it has become the dominant force in eastern Germany. Source

The CDU seems to loosen its attitude towards the AfD – a threat to democracy. Spahn's signals are therefore alarming. The editorial.